


You're Laughing Out Loud (At The Thought of Being Alive)

by wherehopelies



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:57:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 21,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4703513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wherehopelies/pseuds/wherehopelies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beca/Emily drabble-minific prompts from tumblr because i'm trash and am on the bemily train now. Title taken from Matchbox Twenty's "Could I Be You" which is bemily af bye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drunk Cuddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous inquired: Stacie gets Emily drunk and Emily is just super cuddly with Beca and Beca is like "well this is awkward but I'm oddly okay with it." I don't know this is probably terrible but, I can't think of anything else

“MORE SHOTS!”

Beca groans, covering her face with her hands. “Stacie, please no more.”

“DJ Beca Bitchell takes shots like a frolly!” Amy punches the air and they all stare at her. Next to her on the couch, Emily lets out a giggle.

“Dude, what the fuck is a frolly?” Beca says, crossing her arms defensively because even though she doesn’t what a frolly is, she’s pretty sure Amy is insulting her.

Amy just smirks before pouring them more shots.

Beca feels a hand pat her on the head. 

“You are just so… tiny.” Beca looks to see Emily staring at her in wonder. “How are you so small? Did you drink too much coffee as a child because my mom says that stunts your growth. She also says bananas make you poop. I hate bananas.”

Beca snorts out a small laugh. “Okayyy, I think that’s enough shots for you, Legacy.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. You always know so many things. I’m so glad I’m a Bella and you’re a Bella and you can teach me because it’s just like, so cool to be a Bella.” Beca’s eyes widen as Emily leans her head into Beca’s neck, her breath hot and slow against Beca’s chest.

“Umm. Yeah.” Beca smiles fondly and puts her arm behind Emily on the couch to better distribute her weight.

“Hold up your hand,” Emily instructs, voice small and tired. She lets out a yawn. 

Beca holds her hand up and Emily touches their palms together, measuring their fingers. 

“You have such cute, tiny hands…” Emily whispers, leaning her head up to look at Beca. Her nose brushes Beca’s cheek and Beca blinks rapidly, suddenly overwhelmed by how close they are and how Emily’s eyes are the deepest brown she’s ever seen. Emily smells good, like really good, familiar like nostalgia and fresh like autumn leaves. 

Emily shifts her fingers so they twine through Beca’s, letting them presss against Beca’s knuckles and squeezing. Emily exhales heavily, nestling her chin further into Beca’s chest, their clasped hand falling to Beca’s lap.

“Wowwww, Legacy,” Amy says, letting out an overly dramatic sigh. “You pine more than a tree.”

Emily shifts against Beca, but doesn’t lift her head. Beca glances up, an uncomfortable tension filling her chest that almost feels like anger. “Amy,” she snaps. “For once can you please shut up.”

Amy holds her hands up innocently and heads to the kitchen. Beca scowls, but Emily just mutters a quiet “thanks” before she yawns sleepily again.

And for the first time in her life, Beca feels big, and steady, and unshakable, like the Rocky Mountains. 

When Emily falls asleep, Beca doesn’t leave, just glares at Amy every time she brings her smirk near the couch. She stays there, even as her shoulder falls asleep and the clock ticks past 3am. 

She doesn’t move, not until Chloe and Stacie come downstairs and help carry Emily to Beca’s bed for the rest of the night because this couch sucks for sleeping on and Emily’s legs are so long they hang over the armrest.

In the morning, when Beca wakes up, Emily’s chin is still pressed to her chest, her long legs draped all the way over Beca’s.

Beca finds that, somehow, she doesn’t really mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emilyjunklegacy.tumblr.com come scream at me


	2. Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: I can't stop imagining Emily having problems with someone on campus. Like someone keeps harassing her or something and then Beca finds out and like totally punches the person. And Emily thinks it's just the whole Bella sisterhood thing but really Beca just feels protective of her. And then after the whole fight thing, Emily is like cleaning up Beca's hands and face and the sexual tension is tangible. That's literally what is running though my head right now..

Emily’s always considered herself a pacifist.

She’s never really been a person who’s wanted to hit things, even when she’s mad. Sure, her mom put her in karate when she was seven, but she’s never had to actually _use_ any of the knowledge that she accumulated to get her green belt.

Words can sometimes hurt more than fists anyway, and she’s learning that this week.

She doesn’t know why this keeps happening, or why it keeps happening to _her_ , but for the past three days, every time she walks on campus, there are these two guys, and they just won’t _leave her alone_.

She doesn’t know how they find her, whether they’re looking for her, or if it’s a coincidence that she sees them, but it just keeps happening. She’ll be walking on campus, and then she’ll hear a loud whistle and a grainy voice will yell at her from across the quad.

“Hey Legs!”

The other guy whoops and they both laugh and Emily feels like running, but she doesn’t. She tries to block it out, the obscene things they’re yelling that make her skin crawl and her face feel too hot and her head dizzy.

If she ignores them, they’ll go away.

“Come on, come talk to us!”

She takes a deep breath, pushing forward down the sidewalk. She closes her eyes briefly as if that will make them disappear, but that turns out to be a mistake, because she’s not looking where’s she going and she completely barrels into someone on the sidewalk.

“Sorry,” she says weakly, opening her eyes and trying to move past the person.

“Emily?” Emily wrenches her head up to see Beca in front of her. “Em, what’s wrong?”

Emily shakes her head quickly because those guys are stupid and _they don’t matter_. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Beca looks her up and down and Emily tries not to show her sadness because those guys are stupid and they shouldn’t make her sad and she doesn’t want to care about them. “No you’re not.”

At that moment, one of the guys yells something in her direction and Emily can’t hear them _she_ _can’t hear them_. She looks up toward the sky, willing away the tears she feels building behind her eyes.

 _They don’t matter_.

Beca cranes her neck to see past her and Emily shifts awkwardly on her feet. She just wants to get back to her dorm and she doesn’t want Beca to see that the guys get to her because Beca is cool and beautiful and tough and Emily isn’t.

Emily is weak and scared and not brave.

“Are those guys bothering you?” Beca asks, her tone suddenly hard, sharp like a whip.

“Umm,” Emily takes a deep breath, still trying not to cry. “I mean. They just yell stuff at me sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Beca’s eyes narrow. “As in more than just now?”

Emily’s throat is suddenly dry, her fingers cold. She feels a storm brewing in Beca, and not the good kind. It’s the kind that scares her, a hurricane of violence and fear.

She looks over her shoulder briefly and sees the guys are still staring at her. One makes an obscene hand gesture and Emily quickly looks back at Beca. “Just the past couple of days,” she says, her voice almost a whisper. She inhales heavily, closing her eyes for just one second.

When she opens them, Beca is gone.

“Beca?”

She whips around, but Beca is already almost at the boys, her swift walk powerful and commanding.

Emily freezes, her eyes wide as she watches Beca jab her finger into the chest of one of the boys. He’s not very big, but he’s bigger than Beca and it makes something tighten in Emily’s stomach.

She thinks she might be sick.

Beca starts yelling, her hands flying through the air, hair whipping across her shoulders.

The boy says something back and there’s a pause, and Emily knows why, knows it’s the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane.

And then Beca’s arm pulls back, her fist swinging through the air. There’s a loud _smack_ and the boy goes down, one hand on his knee, the other covering his nose.

“Hey!” His friend rushes forward, grabbing Beca by the arm, but she jabs her elbow into his stomach. He doubles over coughing as the first boy stands up straight.

Beca’s screaming, her voice a thunderous wave of anger. “You don’t talk to girls like that! Fuck you asshole!”

The boy holds his hands up, but Beca’s fist is already in motion again, breaking past his weak defense and smacking his chest.

Emily’s suddenly terrified that Beca is going to get hurt.

Her legs finally work and she swallows her heart as she tears off in Beca’s direction, her long legs carrying her there in just a few short steps.

“Beca, stop!”

Beca doesn’t hear her, or maybe doesn’t listen, and Emily cringes as her fist connects with the boy’s hands as he desperately tries to hold her off. Beca’s knuckles are covered in blood and Emily isn’t sure if it’s hers or the boy’s. There’s a scratch above her eyebrow that’s beginning to drip red down Beca’s cheek.

Emily is hyperaware of the crowd that’s formed, the cell phones held up and the excited murmuring rushing from person to person. She think of cameras and campus security and Chloe joking with Beca about her criminal record. Her heart jumps in her throat and she reaches out, her fingers grabbing the fabric of Beca’s shirt from the back.

“Beca, stop, please!” Her voice cracks and it seems to break Beca from her storm. “Let’s go! Let’s just go.”

She tugs on Beca’s shirt and Beca lets her, her body seeming to give in to Emily’s pleading. She pulls Beca away from the boys and down the sidewalk. She looks back as they cross the quad and sees that the crowd of people is already dispersing, stepping around a splotch of blood on the sidewalk that Emily thinks came from one of the boys’ noses.

She pulls Beca harder.

“Em, it’s fine you can let go.”

Emily can’t let go. Her hands are shaking and her legs feel weak and if they can just get back to her dorm then she’ll be able to breathe again.

She uses her free hand to swipe them in with her key card and she heads for the community bathroom on the first floor even though she lives on the third. She pushes the door open, thankful when it’s empty, and pulls Beca in after her.

There’s a lock on the door so she turns it, grateful for whoever’s dumb decision that was.

“Em.”

Beca seems to be speaking from far away and Emily has to remind herself that they’re in the bathroom and it’s fine.

“Let me see your hands,” she says, and she doesn’t recognize her own voice, the way it’s deeper with worry.

Beca blinks at her, the storm in her eyes clearing. She holds her left hand up wordlessly.

Emily takes it gently, pursing her lips in displeasure at the dried blood across the knuckles, the skin around them already swollen. Beca exhales sharply when Emily pushes down slightly.

“You could’ve broken your fingers,” Emily murmurs, her eyes traveling up to the cut over Beca’s eyebrow. The blood down Beca’s forehead has run into her bangs and is starting to dry and thicken to a crusty red that needs to be cleaned.

She pulls Beca to the sink. “Can you sit on here, please?” Her voice still sounds tight and she clears it. Beca doesn’t argue, just uses her right hand to propel herself onto the counter.

Emily pulls some paper towels from the dispenser, running them under cool water. She brings the towel up to dab at Beca’s forehead gently, washing away the excess blood so she can see the cut. It’s not very deep, just an inch or two long over the eyebrow.

She could properly clean it if they were at the Bella house where she knows Chloe has a first-aid kit with Neosporin stashed away in the hall closet. The paper towels will have to do for now.

She can feel Beca’s eyes on her and for the first time, she notices that they’re close, closer than they’ve ever been. Emily tries not to think about how beautiful Beca looks with hurricane eyes.

“Please don’t do that again,” she says lowly, her voice almost a whisper.

“Those guys were dicks,” Beca huffs.

Emily pulls back, her hand still dabbing at the cut near Beca’s eyebrow. She thinks of the anger and fear she felt when Beca was punching the one guy’s chest and wonders if maybe she’s a storm too.

“I don’t care, please don’t do that again.” She lets her hand fall away from Beca’s face.

Beca shifts on the counter, uninjured hand tapping at her thigh. “Em, they were _harassing_ you.”

“I don’t care, ple – ”

“No, _I_ don’t care.” Beca’s voice gets louder, echoing around the bathroom. “I’m not just gonna let some guys bother you.”

Emily blinks rapidly, feeling the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She pushes them back and forces her voice to come out clear. “I know we’re Bella sisters and everything, but I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Beca just stares at her, mouth thinning into a line and eyes dark as they flick back and forth between her own. Emily feels like Beca is searching her face for something but she’s not sure what.

She pulls back and gets another paper towel, wetting it and picking up Beca’s left hand lightly. She presses the paper towel to the swollen knuckles, feeling guilty when Beca flinches.

“Sorry,” she murmurs.

Beca sighs. “It’s not just because we’re Bellas. I would’ve done that anyway.”

Emily glances up from Beca’s knuckles, but Beca has her eyes closed. She looks like she’s struggling to either say something or not say something. Emily’s not sure which.

She tears her eyes back down to Beca’s hand, gently dabbing at the dried blood. It seems that only a small amount of it is Beca’s and the rest must be from the other guy because they’re only split a little, right between Beca’s middle and pointer fingers.

“You’re something else, Legacy.” Beca’s voice is soft, like drizzle and fog and cold November mornings.

Emily shivers, unsure what to say, so she doesn’t say anything, just presses the wet towel to Beca’s hand again. She’s wiped all the blood off, but there’s something in the air that’s holding her in that spot, like if she moves and goes to leave the bathroom, something in her will crack.

Beca’s hand is swollen around the knuckles, the skin already bruising a dark purple that’s almost black. Beca’s fingers are warm against Emily’s cold ones. She wants to bring them to her cheek or maybe her lips, the way her mother used to do for her when she would get paper cuts and jammed fingers as a young child.

Instead she just lets her fingers trace the dark bruises that have painted her fear into Beca’s skin.

Finally, Emily looks up. Her nose is inches from Beca’s and she can’t remember when she moved close again. “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. Or going to jail. It’s not worth it.”

Beca still has her eyes closed. “Well maybe it is to me.”

And there’s something in the way Beca says it, her mouth pushing the words out defensively, that has Emily pausing. She stares at Beca, her tiny frame hunched on the counter, her nose at Emily’s eye level. As Emily looks at her, Beca’s eyes slowly open, her dark pupils focusing on Emily’s.

Emily feels softness break over her like a wave, tender and open.

“Beca.”

“Hmmm?” Emily still has one hand pressing into Beca’s and she moves so their fingers tangle. Beca’s gaze flits down to Emily’s lips before it settles on her eyes again, clear and steady.

Emily doesn’t know what possesses her to say it, but she’s opening her mouth, her voice a rough whisper. “Can I kiss you?”

Beca’s eyes flash, her irises stormy again, but Emily thinks they’re electric and magnetic and so so beautiful.

“Yeah.”

Everything feels like it’s moving slowly: her chest pushing in and out with every breath, her heart beating behind her ribcage, her hand leaving it’s spot on the counter to touch Beca’s face.

Her finger traces Beca’s cheekbone gently, the soft skin heating underneath her touch. She places her palm against the curve of Beca’s jaw and Beca leans into her hand, her eyes fluttering closed.

When Emily touches her lips to Beca’s, she wonders how someone can be so sharp and so soft at the same time.

Beca’s breath is hot in Emily’s mouth and her nose presses against her own. Emily can feel Beca’s knee digging into her stomach and her free hand pushing into her hip and love pressing against her throat.

Beca pulls back slightly, her lips hovering against Emily’s. “Was that okay?” She asks, even though Emily was the one who had kissed her.

Emily nods slightly, feeling breathless and wild, like the storm had passed from Beca to her in a current of electric lightning.

Beca’s lips brush over hers again, soft as a feather, and Emily shivers.

“We should probably unlock the door,” Beca says and Emily feels the words vibrate on her lips.

“Yeah, probably.” She starts to move away, but Beca leans forward, capturing her lips again. Emily hums in surprise, a small gasp of air leaving her throat, but just as quickly as she’d moved forward, Beca pulls back again.

Emily opens her eyes to see Beca smiling at her, soft like summer rain.

“Come on,” Emily says. “Chloe has Neosporin and band-aids.”

Beca scoffs as she hops off the counter. “I don’t think I need band-aids.”

“Beca, please. You could get an infection.” She holds the door open and Beca walks under her arm and into the hallway of the dorm.

“Fine,” Beca grumbles. “But only because I don’t want it to turn green.”

“Yeah, you’ve got enough of the Hulk in you already.” Emily grins at herself, suddenly feeling lighter than she has in days.

Beca points her finger at Emily. “That’s not funny.”

“Yes it is.”

“Whatever,” Beca huffs, but Emily catches her smiling as they exit the dorm.

And Emily doesn’t know why, maybe it’s because she’s not alone or maybe Beca had passed some bout of insane courage to her when they kissed, but for the first time since she can remember, Emily feels something surge inside her, a feeling that she vaguely knows but isn’t quite familiar with.

For the first time in forever, Emily feels brave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmu: emilyjunklegacy.tumblr.com


	3. Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: Fic when Beca has Hersey’s kisses and asks Emily if she “wants a kiss?” Emily is confused because she didn’t think that Beca liked a lot of affection, but kisses Beca’s cheek. While Beca giggles and blushes, she shows Emily that she meant the candy (they’re just friends in this one)

Beca hears the door to the Bella house open just as she’s unwrapping her 5th Hershey kiss. The silver, green, and red wrappers litter the table in front of her like pieces of confetti, crinkling as she brushes them away from her laptop. She pops the chocolate into her mouth, cursing Chloe for buying so much post-Christmas discount leftover candy and her own lack of self restraint when it comes to chocolate.

“Hey,” Emily peeks her head into the kitchen, her long body following when she sees Beca sitting there. “Whatcha doin’?”

Beca tongues the chocolate into her cheek and shrugs. “Essay. Does this look right to you?”

Emily bounces to the table in her happy Emily way and peers over Beca’s shoulder. “What?”

Beca jabs her finger toward the document open on her laptop. “How do you spell ‘posthumous’ because like, spell check says it’s good but like, doesn’t it look wrong?”

“Hm,” Emily hums, her nose crinkling cutely. “Nope, pretty sure that’s right.”

“Hmph.” Beca grunts, her fingers unconsciously reaching for another Hershey kiss. Essays stress her out.

Emily pats her shoulder in a friendly, reassuring way. Beca just finds it awkward. “Have you seen Stacie? She’s supposed to help me with my Physics.”

“Uh huh,” Beca says, working her nail under the foil of the kiss. “She went with Ash to get Slurpees. They’ll be right back.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll just wait in her room then.”

“Mmmkay,” Beca says, turning back to her essay and getting ready to put the chocolate in her mouth. Then she realizes she’s had like, 4 too many, and stops. “Uh.” She turns to Emily just before the girl leaves the kitchen. “Em, do you want a kiss?”

Emily glances back at her uncertainly, her eyebrows scrunching inward. “Uh, yeah sure.” Then she grins and bounds back to Beca. Beca moves to hand her the chocolate when Emily leans down and presses her lips to Beca’s cheek.

“Uh.” Beca blinks rapidly as Emily pulls back, feeling heat shoot into her cheeks. “I’m.. Er.” She holds up the chocolate. “Chocolate. Kiss.”

“Oh,” Emily giggles, a bright grin taking over her face. “Yeah I was like, that’s weird of Beca to ask but okay. Chocolate makes more sense.” She grabs the kiss from Beca and it quickly disappears into her mouth. “Yum.”

Beca makes a weird sound that was probably supposed to be some type of words coming out of her mouth, but like, yeah that didn’t happen so. 

“Anyway,” Emily laughs again. “Tell Stace I’m upstairs when she gets back.”

Then she’s skipping out of the kitchen, leaving Beca blushing and confused behind her. Beca blinks, shakes her head, and turns back to her essay.

Only a minute passes before her fingers are reaching for the bowl of chocolates of their own accord, and her mind is wandering away from her essay and to the girl whose voice she can hear singing softly to herself upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emilyjunk.tumblr.com :)


	4. Out of Reach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said: Bemily when Beca can’t reach something on a high shelf and she’s too proud to ask Emily for help? So Emily watches her struggle for a little bit and then takes the thing but holds it high in the air until Beca gives her a kiss for it?

Emily’s already sitting at the kitchen table when Beca slouches in, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“Good morning,” Emily chirps, smiling at the way Beca’s face transforms into a near permanent scowl in the morning.

“Mrn,” Beca grunts.

Emily shakes her head fondly, attention turning back to the article she was reading on her phone, only to be distracted again by another loud grunt from Beca’s direction.

She looks up, smiling a little in a amusement as she watches Beca stand on her tiptoes, trying to reach her favorite coffee mug in the cupboard and huffing in frustration when she can’t. Her fingers just barely skim the edge of it, the mug taunting her with closeness while remaining just out of reach. 

Emily imagines she’s silently cursing Ashley or whoever did the dishes last for putting her mug on a high shelf.

Emily watches her for a second before she takes pity on her and gets up from the table. She takes the few steps to the counter, reaching around Beca to grab the mug just as Beca looks as if she’s getting ready to climb on top of the counter.

“You could’ve asked for help, you know,” she says, grabbing the handle of the mug.

Beca just grunts, and reaches for the mug.

Emily holds it away and Beca frowns.

“What? No  _oh thank you Emily_  or  _you’re the best girlfriend ever Emily_ or  _I love you so much Emily_?”

Beca snorts. “Hmph. Thanks,” she bites out, voice still scratchy from sleep.

Emily continues to hold the mug our of reach, enjoying Beca’s frustration the tiniest amount. She would tell Beca how cute she is, but she values her relationship and also her life, so.

She turns her cheek toward Beca, using her finger to point at it while she leans down, grinning the entire time.

Beca grunts again (she’s a woman of many words in the morning) and lifts up on her toes slightly, her lips moving toward Emily’s cheek.

At the last moment, Emily turns so their lips touch for the briefest second. Then she pulls back and gives Beca the mug before sitting back down at the table.

Beca stands still for a moment, then shakes out of it and moves to fill up her mug from the half-empty coffee pot on the counter. 

Beca would deny it of course, but as she does so, Emily sees her perpetual morning scowl begin to lift at the edges into the beginnings of a smile.


	5. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From @Owieeey: What about Beca is so used to getting a kiss from Emily in the morning, when she doesn't get one Beca hunts her down until she finds her and gets a kiss all the while being grumpy the whole time. (this is sort of that...?)

Beca wakes to the thumping of music through the floor, an uncomfortable beat invading her peaceful sleep.

She groans and blinks her eyes open wearily. She’s vaguely aware of the stillness of the room, the emptiness of the space beside her. The alarm clock on her nightstand reads 1:07pm.

They’d stayed out late the night before, drinking and barhopping for Amy’s birthday. Clearly the party had continued downstairs when everyone had woken up, the sounds of laughter and music drifting through the closed door into Beca’s space of peace.

She tries to bury her face back into her pillow, but she can’t get back to sleep. She’s grown used to Emily’s warmth taking up space beside her as she sleeps, and her absence from Beca’s bed, plus the commotion from downstairs, preoccupies Beca’s mind too much for to drift back into unconsciousness.

She huffs, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

She thinks this is the first time in forever that she’s woken up after Emily. Usually she has work so she gets up, and Emily has later classes, so she sleeps in. Most mornings, her alarm goes off, and Emily, a light sleeper, rouses herself enough to kiss Beca until she crawls out of bed and into the shower before slumping back asleep.

However, last night’s antics weigh heavily on Beca’s brain, tugging it into a state of exhaustion and giving her a minor hangover headache. She feels like she could sleep another three hours if her brain would let her.

She groans and pushes herself out of bed, feeling off-balance and grumpy and generally hungover.

Making her way down the stairs of the house she now shares with Amy, Chloe, Jessica, Ashley, Flo, and Emily, the music gets louder and she can hear the clinking of glasses from the kitchen. She wanders in sleepily, frowning when she sees her housemates sipping on very large mimosas and having a dance party.

The only one missing is Emily.

“Beca! You’re up!” Chloe beams at her. “Come drink with us!”

“Yeah, Beca,” slurs Amy, clearly already drunk or perhaps still drunk from the night before. “It’s my birthday, so get your skinny ass in here. We’re partying.”

Beca, usually grumpy and unresponsive after just waking up, is especially not in the mood for _this_ with her hangover.

“Where’s Emily?”

Her housemates exchange a glance, shrugging. “We thought she was still sleeping with you,” Ashley says, clearly the most sober of the group.

Beca grunts in response, turns right around, and goes back upstairs. She heads down the hall, past her bedroom, past Jessica and Ashley’s room, and gets to Emily’s room. The door is uncharacteristically closed, but Beca turns the handle and it’s unlocked, so she peeks her head in.

Emily’s sitting at her desk, eyes unmoving from her laptop, fingers perched over the keys, and lips silently mouthing words. She has her pajama pants on still, but has pulled an old Bella hoodie that could have been anyone’s in the house over the tank top she usually sleeps in. Her hair cascades around her shoulders, sticking up in several places as if she’s run her hand through it many times.

As Beca takes a step into the room, her eyes snap up from her laptop, focusing on Beca through the lenses of her recently necessary reading glasses.

“Hey,” she says softly, smiling slightly at Beca. “Did you just get up?”

Beca nods and lets the door shut behind her. The loud noise from downstairs dulls the smallest amount. She shuffles over to Emily and peers down at her laptop.

Emily leans her head into Beca’s side as Beca takes in the open Word document, the wall of seemingly unending text. “The draft of this paper is due tomorrow,” she says. “I didn’t get any of it done last night so I got up early, but,” Beca can hear the faintest hint of frustration in her voice when she says, “it’s hard to work when they’re being so distracting.”

Beca hums scratchily, then moves back over to the door, opening it and sticking her head out. “YO, turn that shit down!” She yells, her voice still rough from disuse.

After a second, the music quiets slightly and Beca shuts the door again. The noise immediately turns near inaudible and Beca sighs in relief.

Emily looks at her gratefully, eyes fond and thankful. Beca still isn’t used to it, the way Emily looks at her, full of love and adoration. It always leaves her feeling a little off-kilter and bashful, unaccustomed to someone showing her so much affection with just a glance. But that’s what she likes about Emily, how differently from Beca she shows love.

It takes a lot for Beca to express how she’s feeling, but Emily loves so easily and fully, shows her love in every action and touch. It took a little to get used to, but Beca likes how soft it makes everything around her feel, like the world shines just a little brighter and moving through it becomes just a little easier.

“Thanks,” Emily says, her fingers tugging through her hair and making it stick up even more. Beca would tease her about it if she wasn’t still waking up. Instead she just grunts again. “Come here,” Emily murmurs and Beca moves so she’s back at Emily’s side.

Emily spins in the desk chair so they’re facing each other. Even sitting, her face comes up to Beca’s collarbone. She turns her head, her fingers drifting up slightly to cup at Beca’s cheek. Beca leans into it, into the softness of the moment.

“Hmm.” Emily scrunches her nose in that way she does, fond and cute, her lips turning up in a smile. Beca leans down a little, anticipating that Emily wants to kiss her, and wanting her to, having missed the way Emily rolls over in the morning and kisses her awake.

Emily presses their lips together and Beca can feel the happiness emanating from her. She may imagine it, but her headache fades the slightest amount.

She pulls back and Emily smiles at her, already turning back to her laptop. Beca takes a step away and crawls into Emily’s rarely used bed. Ever since they started dating, she’s been sleeping in Beca’s room, the queen bed much bigger than her own full-size.

Still, the sheets and extra pillow smell like Emily, and Beca pulls the covers over her, letting her exhaustion wash over her again, the distant sound of Emily tapping at her keyboard lulling her back into a restful sleep.


	6. Hey Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: bemily where beca is high-key jealous when a fresher flirts w em and emily finds it adorable

On Thursdays they have class at the same time, so Beca and Emily walk together, usually stopping by Cool Beanz to get coffee. That’s where they are when it happens.

They get to the counter, Emily jabbering away about her classes as always, barely remembering to breathe between sentences. Beca orders her usual, and then she orders Emily’s usual, and then... then it happens.

“Hey Emily!”

Emily stops talking mid-sentence and finally looks at their barista. “Oh, hey! Joel from Psych right?”

“Yeah,” the barista nods, a blush rising to his cheeks when Emily smiles at him. “What’s up?”

“Just going to class with my friend Beca. We always stop here and get coffee. We live really close. You work here? Wow I’ve never seen you here before. Do you like being a barista? Do you get free coffee? I would  _die_  if I had free coffee. I  _cannot_  hold my caffeine.” Emily sucks in a huge breath and the barista makes brief eye contact with Beca.

“Yeah, she’s usually like this,” Beca says, handing over her card. 

The barista smiles over at Emily, suddenly looking way too enamored for Beca’s taste. Not that people shouldn’t look at Emily like that. And not that the boy is skeevy or weird or anything. He seems friendly. And he’s pretty good looking, if you’re into that crisp and polished look. Beca isn’t, but like Emily might be...

Whatever. He’s just too enamored okay? Beca doesn’t have a reason to think that... she just has a vibe.

“Awesome,” Joel says. “I mean, it’s cute. I mean, you pull it off. I mean...” He clears his throat and Emily giggles.

Beca takes it back. Maybe they are perfect for each other.

The thought makes Beca’s stomach turn.

He stares at Emily while they wait for Beca’s card to process. Emily stares back at him. Beca wonders why these things always take longer when you want to not be standing there waiting for your card to process. 

Finally it goes through and she signs the receipt, darting away to wait at the pickup counter. Emily hovers near the cash register for a moment longer, saying something to the barista before joining Beca.

“Why do you look extra grumpy?” She asks, giving Beca a nudge. 

“I don’t,” Beca says. She probably does.

“Is it because you paid for the coffee? I’ll get it next time.”

Beca shakes her head. “No it’s fine. How do you know that guy?”

“Who Joel?” Emily glances over at the barista who is now preparing their coffee. “Oh he’s in like two of my classes. He’s really nice.”

“He was flirting with you,” Beca mutters. She doesn’t know why she sounds so annoyed about it. Why wouldn’t people flirt with Emily? Emily is a bright ray of sunshine.

Emily glances back at the guy in confusion. “What? No he wasn’t.”

Beca raises one of her eyebrows. “Right.”

At that moment, Joel places their coffees on the counter. He beams at Emily bashfully before scurrying back to the register. Beca snorts when she sees Emily’s cup and the nine digits scrawled on the side. 

“Yeah,” she says, her chin jutting toward the to-go cup. “He wasn’t flirting, but he wrote his number down for you.”

“Oh,” Emily murmurs, looking embarrassed. “That’s probably so we can study together.”

Beca decides not to answer that and they head out of the shop and to class. Emily is uncharacteristically silent on their walk, and Beca doesn’t say anything, choosing instead to stew in silence and sip on her coffee.

When they get to the edge of campus, Emily finally speaks up. “Is that why you were grumpy? Because he was hitting on me?”

Beca scoffs. “What? No.”

“Because you don’t have to be jealous, Bec.”

Beca gapes. “Jealous? Why would I be jealous.”

“I don’t really like him, but if I did and we started dating, I obviously would still prioritize the Bellas.”

“I know, Em. I’m not jealous.” Oh God, she’s totally jealous.

“Then why are you making that twisted face. I mean, you’re really adorable like this, but it’s completely unnecessary.”

Complete and utter discomfort rolls in Beca’s stomach. “I’m not jealous,” she repeats.

“Okay,” Emily says easily. “I’m just saying if you  _were_  you don’t need to be. The Bellas totally come first for me!”

“Yeah,” Beca says, definitely not saying that Emily not putting the Bellas first is probably pretty far down on her stupid jealousy list. “Alright, well.” She gestures toward her building as they approach it. “See you after class?”

Emily nods, and before Beca can say anything, she crushes Beca into a big hug. “You’re really cute when you’re jealous,” Emily says with a laugh.

Beca grunts and Emily releases her, using her long legs to quickly put some distance between them. “See you after class!” She yells.

Beca stares after her, sipping on her iced coffee and trying to swallow down the ugly thoughts coming to the surface that are telling her to sabotage Joel at his place of work. 

She sighs and, with a shake of her head and another firm mental push toward denial, heads toward her class.


	7. Bellas Go Vegan 2015 Initiative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Bemily going on a vegan diet (with the help of Chloe) but Emily is doing it to get healthier for worlds while Beca is doing is doing it to try to get closer to Emily and potentially ask her out (que awkward turtle Beca)

When Chloe first said the words “vegan diet” Beca thought she was kidding. 

Really. Like can you imagine the Bellas on a collective vegan diet?? Beca really couldn’t.

But it turns out Chloe was 100% serious. Apparently one tactic her crazy brain had decided was going to help them defeat Das Sound Machine at Worlds was implementing a full dietary adjustment. 

One without cheese.

Beca imagines this is what hell might be like.

//

Fat Amy, of course, downright rejects this idea, and it’s not like anyone can stop Amy from doing whatever the hell she wants, so. Fat Amy is free.

Beca, for her part, tries to argue, or at least persuade Chloe to let her have cheese, but Chloe shoots her those puppy dog eyes and her mouth thins into a determined line and well, Beca knows a lost cause when she sees one.

“So wait can we just not eat meat?” Cynthia Rose asks and Beca prays there’s no lesbian joke coming. “I’m already a vagitarian.”

Beca sighs.

“And dairy,” Ashley says from her place behind her laptop, already fully committed to a vegan diet herself. “And any other animal product.”

Emily, who had been contemplating their new Bella house meal schedule, looks up worriedly. “Wait so we can’t have ice cream?”

“You can have vegan ice cream,” Chloe assures her with a bright smile. 

Emily doesn’t seem assured. Still, she agrees to the Bellas Go Vegan 2015 Initiative that Chloe typed up.

Yeah, it’s a literal fucking contract.

Beca feels like she might be signing her soul away when she writes her name under Stacie’s in red pen.

//

Beca can’t do it.

She can’t fucking do it.

It’s been three days and she hasn’t had a cheeseburger. She hasn’t had cheese. She hasn’t had even one bite of chocolate!

(Okay she did have  _ one _ bite, but it was fake vegan chocolate and she almost spit it out because it seemed like a betrayal to  _ real  _ chocolate so like, that doesn’t count.)

Needless to say… she caves.

It’s 12:23am and she creeps down the loft stairs, tiptoes down the hallway, and sneaks down the main stairs and into the kitchen.

The Bella house is dark, every member asleep already. She feels like a spy or some kind of traitor, but to be honest, she doesn’t really care. There is a bag of shredded cheese in the fridge that  _ literally _ has her name written on it (in black Sharpie, above the words NO TOUCHING).

She opens the fridge door and, quiet as a mouse (or a hamster or any other kind of small and sneaky creature), slides open the cheese drawer and grabs her cheese. Then she closes the drawer, shuts the fridge, and turns to sit at the table.

And almost screams.

In the light of the closing fridge, she just barely sees a figure sitting at the kitchen table, still as a statue. It takes her eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness, but then she makes eye contact with Emily, who is frozen in place, a spoon halfway to her mouth and a pint of ice cream on the table in front of her.

“Emily!” She hisses. “What the hell dude!”

“Sorry!” Emily squeaks, half-heartedly trying to cover her pint of ice cream with her hands. “I… I wasn’t doing anything! I was… checking to see if anyone else had eaten any!”

Beca barely holds back from snorting. “Oh my God, you cheater!”

Emily has the heart to look embarrassed for half a second before her mouth opens in disbelief. “Me? You’re creeping in here at midnight to greedily shovel cheese in your mouth!”

“Cheese is like barely anything. You have ice cream, that’s way worse!”

“Yeah, well if I’m going to break the contract then at least I’m doing it for ice cream! All you have is cheese!”

Beca opens her mouth to argue again, but then there’s the sound of a toilet flushing from upstairs and she shuts it. Emily freezes in place again, but it seems whoever it was went back to their room.

Beca breathes easily again. 

“Okay,” she whispers, sitting down across from Emily at the kitchen table. “How about we just didn’t see each other here.”

“What do you mean, you’re right - oh. Ohhhh. Yeah.” Emily nods vigorously. “Yeah I was never here. I’m sleeping on the couch right now.”

“Yeah,” Beca agrees. “And I’m up in the loft trying to drown out Amy’s snoring.”

Emily giggles, smiling at Beca in the darkness. Then she takes another spoonful of ice cream, moaning a little when she puts it in her mouth.

“Why are they making us do this? Who wants to live without ice cream?”

“Who wants to live without cheese?” Beca shoots back, grabbing a pinch of shredded cheddar and pulling it out of the bag before sprinkling it into her mouth.

Sweet, wonderful, perfect cheese. How she missed it.

After a few minutes, Emily puts the top back on the ice cream carton and Beca reseals the bag of cheese. She grabs Emily’s ice cream and returns the goods to their respective spots in the fridge and freezer.

Then they say goodnight and disappear into their sections of the Bella house, quiet as ghosts, as if they were never there at all.

//

It becomes their secret.

They have tri-weekly rendezvous in the kitchen around midnight. Over meals, carefully prepared by Ashley and Chloe every day, they exchange knowing eye contact, quietly chewing on their vegan dinners while thinking of the time they’ll both be in the kitchen later and sneakily snacking on their forbidden delicacies.

They last almost a month before they get caught.

They’re in the kitchen like they usually are, sitting in silence and enjoying their treats. Beca has her hand in her bag of cheese when she hears it - the creaking of the stairs.

“Shit,” she hisses, and snatches Emily’s ice cream from the table. She rushes to the fridge and shoves the carton and bag of cheese in.

“What are you doing?” Emily whispers, jolting out of her seat.

“Someone’s coming! Hide!”

They look around, but they’re in the kitchen and they have maybe seconds before they’re caught standing in the dark, Emily’s ice cream covered spoon still on the table.

Basically they’re totally SOL.

“Sorry about this!” Emily squeaks and pushes Beca against the counter.

Beca has half a second to question what’s about to happen, and then Emily’s lips are on hers, just as the kitchen lights flip on.

“Oh my God!”

Emily whips around and Beca squints in the now bright light of the kitchen to see Stacie standing in the doorway. 

“You sneaky little sneaks!” Stacie gasps out.

Beca’s eyes flicker to the spoon on the kitchen table, sitting in the smallest puddle of melted ice cream. Her cheeks burn from Emily’s unexpected kiss and are likely as red as Chloe’s hair. She’s sure the jig is up.

“How long have you guys been hooking up?!” Stacie steps further into the kitchen, eyes narrowed in their direction.

“Umm. You.. uh, like,” Emily stammers, but Beca seizes on the opportunity and leans into Emily’s side.

“None of your business, dude,” she gives Stacie an exaggerated scowl.

Emily’s entire body is rigid against Beca’s. 

“Hmm,” Stacie says suspiciously. Then she nods, impressed. “Pinned against the counter? Wow Em I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhh,” Emily lets out and Beca nudges her. “Uh. Yeah. I mean. Beca is pretty… er. Short.”

Beca can feel Emily cringe and has to majorly refrain from rolling her eyes.

Stacie, however, just grins. “Yeah, no doubt.” She looks them over once again before moving toward the faucet. “Well, don’t let me stop you crazy kids. Just needed some water.”

They watch as she fills her water glass, winks at them, then heads out of the kitchen, flipping the light off behind her as she goes.

Emily slumps against the counter in relief, her head falling in her hands. “Oh my God, Beca, I am so sorry, I just panicked.”

Beca taps the girl awkwardly on her shoulder. “No, no,” she says. “It was a good idea. We didn’t get caught.”

“Yeah but now what? Do we have to pretend to be dating? Friends with benefits? Sex friends? OH MY GOD DO WE HAVE TO HAVE SEX?!”

Beca clamps her hand over Emily’s mouth. “Shh!”

“Sorry,” Emily mutters, the sound muffled. Beca drops her hand. 

“Calm yourself, Legacy,” Beca says. “We can just, you know, play it by ear or whatever. We do  _ not _ have to have sex.”

Emily nods slowly at first, then more enthusiastically. “Yeah... yeah you’re right. Maybe Stacie won’t say anything.”

Beca thinks the chances of that are as likely as Stacie never having sex again, but she nods anyway. “Yeah, maybe.” She opens the fridge and grabs the ice cream. “Do you want more of this?”

“Uh.” Emily shakes her head. “I think we’ve pushed our luck enough for one night. I’m gonna head to bed. Goodnight Beca.”

“Night,” Beca responds. 

She puts the ice cream in the freezer and washes the spoon quickly. Then she heads back up to bed herself, surprisingly still thinking of the taste of chocolate ice cream on her lips. 


	8. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for the gf, who said, “bemily ice skating and beca being really bad at it but doing it anyway for emily and the bellas make fun of her.”

“Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not scared!”

Beca’s scared. She’s totally fucking scared. She’s shaking. Partially because she’s cold AF, but also because she’s scared.

“You’re doing great!” Emily beams at her.

Beca is not doing great. She’s doing horribly. Physically and emotionally. Because she is about to step onto a slippery sheet of ice while wearing literal blades on her feet.

Who the fuck invented ice skating? Who thought that was a good idea?

“Hurry up, Beca. We pay by the hour, girl.” Cynthia Rose says from behind her.

Beca grimaces, takes a deep breath, and carefully shuffles through the door and onto the ice, holding onto the boards of the rink for dear life. She braces for impact with every movement, but by some miracle remains standing upright.

“Do you want help?” Emily asks, holding her gloved hands out in Beca’s direction. She looks more graceful on ice skates than she’s ever looked on solid ground. Beca scowls.

“No. Nuh uh. I got this. I’m cool. We’re good.”

Emily raises an eyebrow skeptically, hovering near Beca as she inches down the boards. “Are you sure?”

Beca nods, determined and too proud for her own good, probably.

“Okaaaay, well just call if you need me.” Emily gives her a kiss on the cheek and glides off easily, like she was meant to be a figure skater or something.

Beca grunts and takes another careful slidey-step down the boards, somehow managing to stay on her feet.

When Emily had mentioned she wanted to go ice skating and the Bellas all started planning the trip in excitement, Beca had been apprehensive, but ultimately agreed. It was rare that her girlfriend actively suggested things she wanted to do, being more of a go-with-flow, along-for-the-ride type of person and always in a good mood about it.

Beca was the exact opposite, so to be honest, that’s sometimes why they were a good match. Emily had more patience for all of Beca’s quirks and very specific tastes than all of the other Bellas put together, except maybe Chloe.

Beca had never been ice skating and had absolutely zero athletic ability, but she owed it to Emily to fulfill this one wish.

Beca assured herself that it was likely she wouldn’t be the only Bella who was bad at ice skating, but even Amy was experienced, skating circles around the rink like she’d been doing it her whole life.

(She hadn’t, she told Beca. This was her first time ice skating. Beca was starting to think she’d been lying when she said that.)

Beca grips the boards tighter and glances across the ice. Chloe and Emily gracefully skate figure eights around Ashley and Jessica, who mosey about at a leisurely pace, chatting like they were strolling through the park. Lilly’s doing speed laps around the rink, and Cynthia Rose is betting Stacie that Amy can beat Flo in a race.

“Okay, Beca,” she says to yourself. “You can do this.”

She braces herself, closes her eyes, lets go of the boards, and…

And nothing happens - she’s still on her feet.

She smiles triumphantly.

“Nice job, babe!” Emily yells at her as she skates by.

Encouraged, Beca scoots forward on her skates…

And promptly falls right on her ass.

“Oof.”

She cringes as she hits the ice, her feet flying out from under her. She just barely manages to not whack her head into the cold ground.

With a whoosh, Emily cuts to a stop beside her, ice spraying the boards where Beca had just been.

“Oh no,” she says, reaching down. “Are you okay?”

“Hey CR, look, Beca’s falling for the legacy again!” Amy shouts from across the rink and Beca huffs, sprawling out on the wet ice.

“Leave me here to die,” she says dramatically.

Emily snorts, a habit she likely picked up from Beca. “Don’t be so dramatic. Let me help you.”

“No,” Beca whines. “I can’t do it. I’ll just wait in the warmth and safety of the viewing area while you guys have fun.”

“No you won’t.” Emily gives her a fond look. “Don’t you trust me?”

She gives Beca the most earnest puppy eyes Beca’s ever seen. And like, what the hell is Beca supposed to say to that?

“Of course I do,” Beca grumbles. “It’s me I don’t trust.” But she sits up with a sigh, grabbing Emily’s arm with one hand and pushing herself carefully up with the other. She stands on shaky skates, cold and bruised and pouting.

Emily beams at her, her hands reaching up to adjust Beca’s beanie and pull it further down over her ears. “Hold my hands. I won’t let you fall, promise. And if you do, we’ll both go down, okay?”

Emily holds her hands out and Beca stares at them for a moment. Then she releases the boards again, quickly grabbing Emily’s hands before she has a chance to land on her ass again.

“See it’s not so bad,” Emily says softly. Beca’s gaze refuses to leave Emily’s hands, like she’s grabbing some kind of lifeline and if she looks away she’ll slam into the ice within milliseconds.

“We’re not even moving,” Beca grumbles, to which Emily chuckles and begins to glide backwards, pulling Beca along with her.

“How are you doing that?” Beca almost hyperventilates. “This is like, the worst sport ever, dude. Why do people like this?”

“It’s fun,” Emily chirps, completely comfortable skating backwards and holding onto her awkward girlfriend. “And you get to wear cute outfits.”

Beca finally tears her gaze away from Emily’s hands, looking up at her fondly. Emily’s eyes shine with happiness and her cheeks are red from the cold. She has a pink beanie pulled down over her ears, the puffy ball on top bopping along with Emily’s every movement.

Beca’s so caught up in Emily that she almost forgets they’re not alone on the ice. But then Chloe and Stacie glide past, cooing at them.

Beca feels embarrassment flush her cheeks, but Emily just smiles bigger.

“Look,” she says, “you’re skating!”

Beca would barely classify the extremely slow shuffling they’re doing as skating (really, Emily’s skating and just pulling Beca along), but she grins up at Emily anyway.

“Yeah. I guess I am.” She squeezes Emily’s hands. “I love you, Em.”

Emily beams at her happily. “I love you, too.”

They slowly skate past Amy and Beca sticks her tongue out when Amy smirks at her.

Whatever.

Beca guesses ice skating isn’t that scary.

As long as she gets to hold Emily’s hands. And have hot chocolate afterward. With alcohol.

Yes, she thinks as she lurches forward, barely saved from falling by Emily gripping her forearms.

She definitely deserves that after this. She loves Emily, but she’s never going ice skating again.


	9. The One with the Nap Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also for the gf, who says “bemily but like that friends episode where joey and ross nap together”

Beca should have seen it coming when she first sat down on the couch next to Emily. She  _ hates _ movies. She always falls asleep.

Still, she had nothing better to do. Most of the Bellas were out shopping and Emily had been watching a movie on the Bella’s couch, so Beca just plopped down beside her in order to pass the time. 

She should’ve seen it coming, but it’s still a surprise to her when she groggily opens her eyes and a soft body shifts beneath her. She blinks in surprise, her brain not fully awake, and turns to look at what she’s laying on. 

She jumps up when she sees it’s Emily.

“Ahh!” She yelps, immediately pushing off the couch.

Emily squints at her, her eyes still half closed. “Oh. We fell asleep,” she murmurs. Then her eyes shoot open the rest of the way. “Oh. Oh sorry. Did I hug you? I’m a sleep hugger. Sorry!”

“It’s fine!” Beca shakes her head, grateful none of the Bellas were around to see this rare scene of affection from her. Amy would never let her live it down. “Let’s just… not mention this to anybody.”

Emily nods, taking a cue from Beca. “Yeah. Yeah sounds good.”

“Cool. Great,” Beca says. “Umm. I’m just gonna,” she points up the stairs, and with another embarrassed shake of her head, rushes up to the loft.

//

An hour later, Emily’s still on the couch when Beca’s stomach drives her downstairs for a snack. The Bellas haven’t yet returned, so Beca pours herself a bowl of cereal and sits down at the table.

She jolts in surprise when Emily shuffles into the kitchen.

“Um,” she says, her fingers fiddling with her hoodie strings. “Beca, can I talk to you?”

Beca stops mid-chew. “Okay…”

“That nap…”

Beca’s spoon falls into her bowl. “About anything but that. We’re not speaking of that! The Bellas will tease you for the rest of your life, do you understand?”

Emily bounces on her toes. “I know, but like… Beca that was  _ the best _ nap I’ve ever had.”

Beca shifts in her seat, grabbing her spoon again. “It was a really good nap…”

“See!” Emily slides into the chair opposite Beca. “We’re nap compatible! And I want to… I want to nap with you again!”

Beca’s eyes widen in alarm. “What? No!”

“But Beca…”

“I don’t care if it was the best nap in the history of naps, dude! We can’t! If we start napping together, the Bellas will think they can  _ hug _ me and  _ cuddle _ me, and oh my God they’ll never shut up!”

Emily pouts. “But…”

“No,” Beca points her spoon at Emily firmly. “Nuh uh.”

Emily sighs. “Fine. But just know… I’ll always be thinking of that nap…” Then she gives Beca a meaningful look and disappears back into the family room.

Beca grumbles and finishes her cereal. Nap compatible… 

No. No way. She gets enough of the Bellas teasing her as it is.

Even if she can’t stop thinking about that nap...

//

A week passes and Beca finds herself alone with Emily in the Bella house again. This time Bellas had gone day drinking, and Beca hadn’t really wanted to and Emily was still under 21, so. There they were.

Beca’s in the kitchen working on a mix and Emily is eating a sandwich, looking over at Beca every few minutes.

Finally Beca huffs. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

Emily at least has the decency to look a little guilty about it, but then she raises her eyebrows meaningfully. “Nobody’s here.”

“So?”

“So…” Emily glances toward the family. “I’m gonna go take a nap on the Bella couch…”

Beca frowns. “And why… would I care about that?”

“No reason,” Emily says innocently, getting up and throwing her trash in the bin. “Just in case you want to know where I am.”

She shoots Beca another look and heads out of the kitchen. Beca hears her settle into the couch.

Beca glances down at her mix, then up at the clock, the down at her mix, then into the family room, then down at her mix.

Then she sighs, shuts her laptop, and, against her better judgment, slouches after Emily, already looking forward to the nap she’s about to have.

//

Beca should’ve seen it coming.

Oh, God, she knew it would happen.

She knew if they napped together again the Bellas would find out!

Still, she’s surprised when she opens her eyes, her cheek pressed warmly into Emily’s neck, when she hears someone clear their throat.

In a panic, she realizes what’s happening and shoots off the couch.

“Wooooooow,” Amy says, her arms crossed. All the Bellas stand there, looking like cats that caught the canary.

Oh no oh no oh no.

On the couch, Emily yawns and opens her eyes sleepily. “See Bec,” she says. “I told you we were nap compatible.” Then she sees the Bellas standing there and her mouth falls open. “I mean… umm.” She looks at Beca guiltily. “Crap.”

“So you  _ do _ cuddle, huh Bec?” Chloe smirks at her and Beca frantically shakes her head.

“No, no. Nuh uh. Nope.”

The Bellas start to move upstairs, but they all look at her knowingly before they go. Beca internally groans.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Chloe sings and Beca wants to disappear from the planet for good. 

Emily clears her throat, pushing up from the couch. “Right, well. Better get back to my dorm… Night!” She waves at everyone, then leans in close to Beca. “Let me know if you ever want to nap together again.” Then she’s gone.

Amy gives her one last shit-eating grin before heading upstairs. Beca lets her face fall in her hands.

She should have seen this coming.

She’s never going to live this down.


	10. New and Recommended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: Don’t know if you’ve seen Kendrick in “the last five years” but her character over FaceTime talks about being really happy when she sees her love interests book at a target - and buy it anyways and the guy she’s there with gets jealous abt. So like bemily, but it’s Emily at the target seeing Beca’s EP/album with someone who gets jealous about how fangirly she is about it.

Part of Emily’s job as an elementary school counselor is that every year she goes with the 6th graders on their Outdoor Ed trip. They need all the chaperones they can get, so it’s her and the gym teacher, Ms. Schneider, the four 6th grade teachers, and the Assistant Principal, Mr. Townsend.

And of course, the school’s thirty sixth graders. All in the woods. For a week.

It’s a riot, but it’s also a crazy time where crazy stuff happens and Emily’s sure she’s emotionally scarred from last year’s trip where she accidentally walked in on Mr. Townsend in the outhouse taking his morning poop.

She hasn’t really been able to look at him the same since.

Needless to say, it’s an unpredictable time, and these are kids at an unpredictable age, so.

The week isn’t always smooth sailing.

That’s why Emily’s in a Target in the middle of a town on the edge of nowhere.

See, Morris Keller and Gino Tariarti began wrestling, as 12 year old boys will, and before any of the chaperones noticed, the two had rolled themselves right into a patch of some kind of plant that had caused Morris to break out in a major rash. 

And  _usually_  they were prepared for things like this. 

But like she said, it’s a hectic week and some people (cough, Mr. Townsend, cough) forgot to add the Cortizone to their first aid kit. And now Morris looks like he’s growing lizard skin and he won’t stop scratching.

Cue Emily and one of the 6th grade teachers, Mr. Baldwin, making an emergency trip to the closest town, and stopping at the first store with a pharmacy that they see, which happens to be this lovely Target.

Now, in general, Emily  _loves_  Target. There’s just something calming and rejuvenating about being in a Target. And it’s not just the AC she’s feeling blasting from every direction on her sunburnt skin. 

But this Target in particular, Emily decides.  _This_  is a good Target.

Because they have to pass the entertainment section on their way from the pharmacy to the checkout line, and as they pass the music section, right there on the end in the display rack, is her girlfriend’s face.

Sure, Emily’s seen Beca’s album about 8 billion times, and quite frankly there’s about 10 physical copies of it just stacked up on the end table in their condo (Beca’s started using the CD case as a coaster because she thinks it’s hilarious), but it’s still a jolt to see it like this, casually displayed and advertised in a Target some 3 hours away from home in the middle of a random town while she’s on an emergency trip for rash cream.

She stops briefly as it catches her eye, Beca’s smiling profile shrouded in artificial color, headphones around her neck like they so often are.

It makes Emily’s heart drop in her stomach.

She loves her girlfriend so much and she’s so freaking proud of her!

“Well, all things considered, I guess you don’t have to buy it,” comes a voice from over her shoulder, and she’s brought back into the moment when she sees Mr. Baldwin slow at her side. 

She looks at him confused for a second, and he points to the little paper sign sticking out of the display rack next to Beca’s album.  ** _ON SALE NOW! BUY HERE!_**

“Oh,” Emily says, frowning just a little. 

Now, Emily has nothing against Mr. Baldwin. He’s pretty nice and really good with the kids and ironically is not bald at all, but has super great hair. It’s just that he’s kind of condescending and also totally flirts with her, like, all the time, even after Ms. Schneider pointed out to him in the teacher’s lounge one day that THE Beca Mitchell is currently Emily’s girlfriend and very much in love with Goddard Elementary’s resident school counselor, and Emily is very much in love with THE Beca Mitchell.

(Ms. Schneider is a lesbian and Emily’s best friend at work and she is forever grateful for the gym teacher stepping in on her behalf and always having her back.)

Still, Mr. Baldwin is one of those unfortunate nice guys who pretends he isn’t flirting but totally is and when you point it out he says he was just being friendly. 

Emily doesn’t hate those guys as much as she hates some other guys, but they’re pretty dang annoying when you are, as previously stated, in love with THE Beca Mitchell. And THE Beca Mitchell is in love with you. 

So for one second, Emily is annoyed. But Emily doesn’t stay annoyed very long, and if that’s how Mr. Baldwin here wants to play it, then fine.

She grabs the record that she has 10 other copies of at home right off the damn shelf and continues her march toward the checkout line. Then she pays for the Cortizone cream and one album by THE Beca Mitchell, HER girlfriend, GRAMMY NOMINATED BEST NEW ARTIST. 

As they walk back to their vehicle, Mr. Baldwin is looking a little awkward and Emily is feeling majorly awkward, but she’s also feeling  _extra_  majorly smug. She gets into the driver’s seat and pulls the plastic wrap off the album before Mr. Baldwin even has a chance to buckle his seatbelt. 

Then she puts the CD in the discplayer and skips to the fifth track, the one called “Emily in a Little Black Dress” and she turns the damn volume up.

 _There_ , she thinks, as they start the drive back to camp.  _Now this is what real flirting sounds like_. And she turns the track up even more, the sound of her girlfriend’s voice silencing any conversation that Mr. Baldwin might attempt to have with her on their twenty minute drive back to camp.


	11. Galentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: Prompt: Beca and Emily go on their first date without really realizing its their first date because both are too nervous to ask

Stacie Conrad and Chloe Beale are often lumped together in the Bellas for several reasons. They’re gorgeous, first. They’re flirty, second. They  _ love _ to party, third.

They’re also both hopeless romantics, fourth, and want their best friends to be as happy as they deserve to be, fifth.

Now those last two aren’t really reasons that the other Bellas lump them together, but  _ they _ know, and they have often conspired together to be matchmakers when they’re out on the town and a little bit drunk.

They’ve never had the opportunity to  _ act _ on these conspiratorial plans, per se, but they dream about it often.

Then, finally, one day, the opportunity arrives in the form of a lanky and enthusiastic girl.

Enter one Emily Junk.

//

When Chloe Beale first met Beca Mitchell, she knew they were going to be best friends. She has a keen sense for things like this, and her friendship with Beca Mitchell was practically written in the stars.

Now, Chloe isn’t a meddler. She likes people to forge their own paths. So when Beca started dating Jesse, and Chloe thought it was weird, she didn’t say anything. If her friend was happy, then she was happy.

(She was way happier for Beca when they broke up, because those two just did not make sense to Chloe, but she didn’t say that. No, sir, she did not. But she did think it. Secretly.)

No, Chloe is not a meddler.

But then Chloe met Emily Junk. Or more specifically, Chloe watched Beca Mitchell meet Emily Junk.

She watched as Beca softened every time Emily spoke, and she watched as Emily lit up whenever Beca walked into a room, and she watched them sing together, and write music together, and grow as people together.

And the hopeless romantic in her mixed with the bit of her that wants her best friends to be as happy as they deserve to be.

That’s when Chloe Beale became a meddler.

//

Stacie Conrad has been said to have a very nonspecific taste in boys and boyfriends. This is honestly true.

She does, however, have a very specific taste in  _ friends _ .

And her taste in friends looks exactly like Emily Junk. 

Eager, genuine, and lively, Emily caught Stacie’s eye immediately. She was just the type of person Stacie likes to take under her wing, groom to be their best self, and help set free from the chain of their own expectations.

Emily Junk is the very type of person that Stacie develops an inescapable fondness for, and Stacie is an extremely loyal person, the definition of ride or die, and when Stacie meets Emily, that’s exactly what she becomes.

So when it’s suddenly clear to her that Emily has a crush on one of the other people Stacie would ride or die for, she decides she has a new mission in life.

Stacie Conrad is going to set Emily Junk up with Beca Mitchell.

//

“Force them under the mistletoe at Christmas?”

“No, too awkward and Beca would just run away. Double date and then we ditch?”

“Hm, that could work, but it’s pretty obvious and they might reject the idea if we’re not subtle about it.”

Stacie huffs. “Ugh, we’ve thought of about 50 ways to set them up and none of them are good. Why can’t my brain think of something? It’s usually so smart.”

Chloe laughs. “Well, we’ve had like 6 drinks, Stace.”

“Only because we’ve been sitting here so long rejecting ideas! It’s going to be Valentine’s Day by the time we think of something.”

And then, through her drunken haze, Stacie has an idea. A wonderful idea. A genius idea. 

A wonderfully genius idea.

//

Chloe calls it Galentine’s Day after one of the best episodes of TV in existence and her personal favorite holiday.

The idea is that they celebrate their Bella friendships by going on a friendship date with another Bella for Valentine’s Day. Half the Bellas will r _ andomly _ pick the other half out of a hat, along with a  _ random _ fun date activity, and they’ll enjoy a  _ random _ lovely time together.

That’s the idea anyway. It’s just that Stacie and Chloe totally rig it so it’s not random at all.

GENIUS!

//

“Do we really have to do this?” Beca grumbles, her hand hovering over the hat. She’s not really in to Valentine’s Day.

“It’ll be fun, Bec!” Chloe beams, bouncing on her toes and her eyes gleaming with just a little too much excitement. 

Beca doesn’t trust it one bit. She’s sure there are terrifying activities in that hat just waiting for her to pick one and embarrass herself at.

“Yeah, come on, Beca, we’re all going to pick one!” Stacie shoots her a wink from her spot next to Chloe where she’s holding the hat with the activities. “Live a little.”

Beca sighs. “Fine, but I’d like it to be known that I’m not happy about this at all.”

“Okay,” Stacie says. “Noted.”

“Noted? So I don’t have to do it?”

“No, you still have to do it, but I’m just making a note that you’re not happy about it. In my brain.”

Beca rolls her eyes. “Great.”

And she sticks her hand in the hat.

//

Chloe holds the hat high enough that Beca has to reach up to grab a slip of paper from inside it. It’s a good thing Beca is so short.

Otherwise she might see that all the slips have  _ Emily Junk  _ written on them.

//

“Emily,” Beca calls out, and the girl snaps her head up from where she’s looking down at her notebook.

“What?”

“You’re my… Galentine.”

Emily’s eyes widen before she breaks out in a wide smile. “Oh cool! What are we doing?”

“You get to pick,” Stacie says, innocently holding out her hat with the designated activities.

Which all say the same totally not random thing.

(Next to her, Chloe is very subtly and inconspicuously exchanging all the  _ Emily Junk _ slips for ones with the other Bella’s names on them.)

Emily reaches into the hat and pulls out the chosen activity. “Concert in the park. Ooh, a concert! That’ll be fun!” She grins over at Beca, who smiles reluctantly.

“Yeah, I guess it could be worse. Live music is good, at least.”

Beca shrugs. Emily nods in excitement. Stacie and Chloe share a look.

What those two don’t know is that the concert, on Valentine’s Day, is actually a romantic couples concert where the band will solely do covers of the most iconic love songs in history.

//

When Emily gets to the Bella house on Valentine’s Day, Beca is already downstairs and waiting for her.

Emily’s kind of apprehensive because she knows Beca doesn’t really want to do this, and she  _ knows _ it has nothing to do with her, Beca just doesn’t like this kind of thing, but she still feels a little uncertain. She thinks Beca is really cool, and super funny, and extremely beautiful and talented, and Emily wants Beca to like her and she wants them to have a fun time together.

So, yeah, she’s kind of a nervous person in general, but now she’s just like, extra nervous.

“You ready?” Beca asks, swinging her car keys around her finger and grabbing her bag.

“Yep. Mhmm. Totally. Let’s do this. Off we go!” She cringes when Beca shoots her a funny look. Why is she so awkward? Darn her nervous and naturally enthusiastic disposition.

They get in Beca’s car and Emily tries not to pat her knees anxiously as they start driving. She doesn’t know what to say? There’s like a billion things in her brain that she  _ could _ say, but none of them really seem like things she  _ should _ say. Or like things Beca would care about.

Thankfully she’s saved when Beca hands her the AUX cord. “You wanna play your music?”

Well, she’s saved from talking. But now she has to pick the music and  _ oh my god what if Beca hates her music _ ?!

“...Uh. Okay,” she says reluctantly, plugging the cord into her phone. She doesn’t know what to play so she just picks her  _ random songs _ playlist where she puts new songs she hears that she kind of likes until she gets sick of them and takes them off.

It’s mostly just new songs by artists she hasn’t really heard of before, ones with lame lyrics but a good beat. Nothing too emotional, but super fun to dance to.

She thinks it’s okay because Beca nods her head along to the beat as she drives and turns the volume up, so Emily breathes a little easier.

“Do you know what band we’re seeing?” Emily asks as they pull up to their destination and find a place to park.

“Nope,” Beca shakes her head. “Chloe just said it’s some cover band and,” she does air quotes, “it’s not about the band, it’s about spending time together.”

Emily nods. “Well, that’s nice I guess. But I mean, it always is a little bit about the band, don’t you think? Hard to have a good time if they’re really bad.”

Beca grins over at her. “I think it’s always  _ mostly _ about the band. But at least if they’re bad we can make fun of them together.”

“Deal,” Emily laughs, and Beca joins in, and suddenly Emily isn’t really nervous at all.

She suddenly feels like they’re going to have a really good time.

//

“Do you see them?”

“No.”

“How did we lose them? Beca drives like a grandma.”

Chloe suddenly aggressively points out the windshield. “There! They’re getting out of the car.”

Stacie follows Chloe’s finger and slowly parks her car a little ways away from Beca’s in the parking lot, swatting at Chloe when she sticks her head out of the window to see better. “Don’t let them see you, Chlo.”

“I’m not! They’re walking away. Quick, get out or we’ll lose them!”

They both scramble to get out of the car and follow Beca and Emily at a safe distance. They have a close call when Emily abruptly stops and runs back to Beca’s car for something she must have forgotten. Chloe and Stacie duck behind the nearest vehicle to hide.

“Did she see us?”

Stacie peeks her head out. “Hm. Nah, no way. You know how she is.”

Chloe nods. “It’s going to completely ruin this plan if we get caught stalking them, you know.”

“Not to mention Emily has pepper spray and might attack you if she mistakes you for a creep.”

At that moment, there’s a coughing noise beside them and they realize the car they hid behind is still occupied and the couple inside has their windows open and is staring at them.

Stacie shoots them a look. “What? You’ve never set your best friends up on a date and then spied on them before?”

Chloe giggles and grabs Stacie’s hand. “Come on, they’re getting away.”

Stacie narrows her eyes at the couple in the car again before letting Chloe pull her after their friends.

//

Beca has a bad vibe about this concert.

Something isn’t right about it.

She just can’t put her finger on what it is.

Everything  _ looks _ normal. There’s a stage set up in the park, lots of standing room in the grass. There’s a beer tent. People milling about. Relatively good sound equipment. 

It all  _ seems _ fine. 

So why is she getting such a weird vibe?

The sun is just starting to set and people are crowding the stage. “Come on, let’s get closer,” Beca says, and tugs on Emily’s jacket. She hates being short at standing room only concerts; she can never see. 

They manage to get a relatively close spot, one not right behind any tall people, just as the band comes on stage. Emily lets Beca stand in front of her so she can see better.

“I can just see over your head,” Emily grins, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she teases Beca.

Beca resists the urge to stick out her tongue. “Bite me, Legacy.”

“HELLO ATLANTA!” The lead singer of the band says into the microphone. He looks like he’s in his forties and too old for the Vans he currently has on his feet. Beca snorts. “How y’all doing tonight?!”

There’s some pretty lame clapping, like barely any really, and the drummer bangs a little on the drums.

“Now we wanna thank all you guys and gals for coming to our annual Valentine’s Date in the Park. Stay bundled up out there by grabbing your honey and dancing along.”

The band jumps into their first song, Love Shack, which Beca lowkey doesn’t  _ hate _ , so. Whatever. She bops her head along. She guesses it’s a classic and it  _ is _ Valentine’s Day. She doesn’t know what she was expecting.

The band’s next song is I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. Another classic, but the lead singer definitely doesn’t sound as good as Steven Tyler. After that comes some Beatles songs, God Only Knows by The Beach Boys, and You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac.

Now, Beca totally doesn’t really hate any of these songs. They’re, you know, classics, or whatever, and sure the band doesn’t sound  _ that great _ but they’re still good songs.

It’s just that at this time she suddenly realizes what’s happening here.

Literally every person around them is middle-aged and part of a couple. There are middle-aged couples dancing together, singing to each other, looking lovingly at each other.

And kissing. 

Oh God there’s so much kissing. 

It suddenly hits her that this is totally a concert for older couples. On Valentine’s Day.

How could she have not seen this coming?

She feels Emily at her back and looks over her shoulder. Emily’s nodding along to the song, something by Poison, and looking mildly uninterested, but not completely bored.

“Em?” Beca screams just over the music.

Emily leans down so she can hear better. “Yeah?”

“Um, I just realized there’s like, nobody under forty in this crowd and they’re all like, making out.”

Emily’s head snaps back and she looks around them, her nose scrunching cutely. “Oh. Oh ew. That lady looks like my mom.”

“Can we get out of here? The band is kind of lame anyway.”

“Yeah, for sure.” Emily grins and starts to push her way through the crowd of couples. It’s not super thick, but Beca grabs the back of her jacket to keep from getting separated anyway.

They walk away from the stage a little and as they get further from the speakers, Beca feels like there suddenly is a lot more space around her and like, in her head. 

She takes a big gulp of air.

“So. That was weird?” She says as they walk. “Do you think they did that on purpose or Chloe just didn’t realize it was for old people?”

“Beats me,” Emily shrugs. “I knew like, two of those songs, though.”

Beca grins at her. “Really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I dunno, I was just dancing. They weren’t the worst band ever.” She looks over at Beca. “Do you think they’ll yell at us if we go back from the concert early?”

“I mean, yell is a strong word,” but then she thinks about it. “But actually they probably  _ will _ be insufferable about it. Maybe we should kill some more time.”

Emily nods. “Yeah, okay. You wanna walk around a bit? I think there’s this little ice cream place across the street from the other entrance of the park, if I remember correctly. Chloe took me there once.”

“Sounds good.”

The park isn’t that big, so it only takes them a few minutes to get to the other entrance and across the street to the ice cream place.

Beca gets mint chocolate chip immediately because it’s what she always gets, but Emily takes about five minutes trying to decide on a flavor. Finally she chooses this bright blue flavor that’s supposedly cotton candy.

“Really?” Beca smirks. “After all that deciding, you go with cotton candy?”

Emily shrugs happily. “It looks yummy.”

The teenager worker raises his eyebrows as he hands her the cone. “Yeah, we don’t get many people over twelve years old getting that flavor.” 

Beca feels herself frowning a bit, unsure why. 

The guy continues. “Makes your tongue blue. Just what every adult wants, right? Personally, never even tried it myself.”

Emily licks at the cone, unaffected, but Beca eyes the guy as she hands over her debit card. “Guess people just stop having fun when they get older,” she says. “Become boring like you.”

The guy just stares at her. “Sure. You together or separate?”

“Together,” Beca says at the same time as Emily says “Separate.”

The guy looks between them, then shrugs and charges Beca for them both.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Emily says when they’re walking out of the shop. “I have money.”

“I know,” Beca assures her. “I just wanted to. It’s fine.”

She doesn’t say that the worker rubbed her the wrong way for lowkey judging Emily’s flavor, because whatever. Emily doesn’t seem to care, so why should she?

They walk back through the park, licking their cones and talking about the Bellas and music. Beca shivers a little. It’s February and they’re eating ice cream and she didn’t exactly dress the warmest in her leather jacket, jeans, and Chucks. 

Emily doesn’t seem to mind the brisk air and Beca thinks maybe she should’ve taken a cue from Emily’s wardrobe, a peacoat over dark skinny jeans and boots. And she’s wearing a plain black beanie, pulled over her wavy hair.

Emily catches her as she’s looking and Beca’s stomach flips when Emily smiles at her.

“What?” Emily asks, her hand coming up to her face. “Do I have ice cream on my face? That always happens.”

“No,” Beca says, uncertain if she should mention that Emily just looks unreally beautiful in the moonlight, little patches of lights shining golden on the ends of her hair every time they pass under a lit tree. 

She just seems so… happy and carefree.

And Beca feels… weird. And it takes her a second to know why she’s feeling weird, but when she does, it causes her to shiver again.

She just realized that this moment is really… romantic.

“Why do you look like a Wrackspurt flew in your ears?”

Beca blinks, smiling over at Emily. “What? Is that that one thing from  _ Harry Potter _ .”

Emily beams. “Yeah. Luna says they fly in your ears and make you all confused.”

“Kay dork.” She nudges Emily as they walk and their hands brush and they’ve made their way far enough back in the park that they’re coming up to the stage again.

And the song playing is Faithfully by Journey and Beca wonders for the first time… 

Are they on a date?

Well sure, they’re on a friendship date, but like…

Why does this feel like a  _ real _ date?

“If you think positive thoughts you can get rid of them,” Emily says and it takes Beca a moment to remember they were talking about  _ Harry Potter _ .

“I am,” Beca murmurs because she is.

She’s thinking about how cute Emily is and how her lips look really soft and how she totally wants this to be a real date.

She’s so screwed.

//

“I can’t see them anymore.”

“Me neither. Crap, what if they left?”

Stacie scours the crowd for her two friends, but doesn’t see them among all the dancing couples. “Maybe they didn’t like the music?”

Chloe scrunches her nose. “Beca secretly loves all these songs. They’re on her  _ classics _ playlist.”

“Maybe they realized we set them up to go to a couple’s concert.” Stacie sighs. “We should’ve had a backup plan.”

“Well, come on,” Chloe starts to push out of the crowd. “Let’s head back to the parking lot and see if they’re there. If Beca’s car is still there, we’ll just wait for them to come back.”

Suddenly Stacie tugs roughly on her jacket. “Oh my God, there!”

She pulls on Chloe’s arm and they duck behind a tree. It’s not a very good hiding place, but Beca and Emily don’t seem to notice them.

No, Stacie thinks. They’re too preoccupied staring at each other.

“Where’d they get those ice creams?” Chloe whispers, but Stacie shushes her.

“Look, they’re so cute. You can see Beca’s heart eyes from here!”

Chloe hums, peeking her head around Stacie’s shoulder. “Does it look like Emily keeps trying to hold her hand?”

“No, she does that when she walks next to you. She’s always bumping me with her elbow.”

They watch as their two friends walk down the path back toward the parking lot, Emily gesturing excitedly in that way she does when she talks, and Beca listening intently.

Stacie feels her heart flutter with happiness. “They are  _ so _ cute.”

“I know, that’s why we tried to set them up,” Chloe laughs. “Should we follow them?”

“Yeah, but let’s wait a few minutes. They’re probably just going back to the Bella house.”

So they linger behind the tree, watching as Beca and Emily grow to be just specks in the darkness, and then they creep after them.

//

Emily’s never really sure about most things. She tries to be, but there are just so many variables.

That’s why she hates math.

She knows she can figure things out, but sometimes she’s just not sure which equation to use.

Right now with Beca kind of feels like that, too.

Emily’s feeling a lot of things and she’s just not sure which feeling is going to win out. It kind of depends on the situation, and how Beca feels, and  _ why _ she paid for Emily’s ice cream and looked at her like Emily has  _ answers _ to the whole freaking universe.

There’s a lot of variables here, but the most confusing one is Beca, and Emily’s not sure which equation she needs to follow through on to figure out if this is a date.

Like. A real date. Not this Galentine’s thing they’re supposed to be doing.

It’s just that Beca is like, so cool and  _ so _ pretty and when she laughs, Emily feels like she did something right for once.

Also, it’s  _ Valentine’s Day _ and she knows that doesn’t  _ mean _ anything in this situation, but everything feels really soft and pretty and perfect.

And she was really nervous before starting this evening, but the longer she hangs out with Beca, the easier it is to talk to her. Beca is a super good listener, and she never interrupts or judges Emily for getting too excited. She asks questions like she’s actually interested and Emily doesn’t feel awkward.

She feels, like,  _ right _ .

Like this is  _ easy _ , and  _ good _ , and…  _ special _ .

And for the first time since the evening began, she once again doesn’t know if she should say what’s in her brain. Because she wants to ask Beca if this is a date, and why Beca keeps  _ smiling _ at her like that while Emily sings along to Beca’s music in the car.

She holds it inside her the whole drive back until Beca’s parking on the street outside the Bella house and turning off the car and throwing them into silence.

And then she can’t hold it in anymore because she’s confused and eager and so, so uncertain.

“Was this a date?” She blurts out as they walk up the front steps.

Beca pauses in her movement to pull her keys out of her bag. She turns to look at Emily, an unreadable expression on her face. And oh God _why did she_ _say that_?

She totally did the wrong equation and got all the variables confused and came to a very messed up conclusion.

“I mean, never mind. It’s just that it’s Valentine’s Day and you paid for my ice cream and I had a really good time with you and probably just read the vibes wrong. I do that sometimes. I’m kind of bad at reading social situations. It’s just that - ”

“Em.” Beca tugs on the collar of Emily’s jacket a little and she snaps her mouth shut. “Chill, please.”

“Sorry,” Emily murmurs, kind of wishing she could like, crawl under a rock and die or something.

Beca’s face softens and she smiles the tiniest smile, this fond and tender thing that Emily wants to memorize forever. “Do you want it to be a date?” Beca asks, staring at Emily curiously.

Emily opens her mouth, then shuts it, wrestling with herself, trying to decide what to say, but she can’t. So she just nods. “I think so.”

It seems to take 20 years for Beca to answer, or least for the longest breath Emily’s ever held in her life. “Yeah,” she says eventually. “Me too.”

“Really?” Emily kind of can’t believe it. Because Beca is so… Beca. And Emily is so… well, Emily.

“I had like, a really good time with you. Even if that concert was for lame old people” Beca shrugs, her cheeks turning red. “And I was thinking earlier that you look really pretty.”

Happiness basically explodes in Emily’s chest. “You think I’m pretty?”

Beca gives her an incredulous look. “Yeah dude? You’re all,” she waves her hand in front of Emily’s face as if that’s supposed to explain it. “Glowy.”

Beca practically cringes in embarrassment, but Emily thinks it’s probably the cutest thing she’s ever experienced.

“Like that glowy kid from  _ Sky High _ ?”

Beca snorts. “Sure. Something like that.”

Emily bounces on her toes happily. “Cool. So. You wanna go on another date with me?”

Beca looks away, trying to hide her smile. Emily feels on top of the world. “Yeah, alright.”

“Awesome.” She can’t stop smiling. “Well then I’m gonna go back to my dorm while I’m ahead here.” Beca shakes her head like she can’t believe Emily is real. Emily can relate. This doesn’t feel real at all. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Beca.”

Beca tilts her head to the side, takes a breath as if to brace herself, and then leans forward on her tiptoes.

Emily’s senses are suddenly overwhelmed when Beca’s lips connect with hers. She closes her eyes, her breath catching in her throat, her heart hammering madly in her chest.

It’s the softest most amazing first kiss she’s ever had in her life.

She might pass out.

Beca pulls back and Emily can feel her smiling against her lips before she even opens her eyes. She almost doesn’t want to in case Beca vanishes into thin air and she wakes up from some amazing dream.

Magically,  _ unbelievably _ , when she finally does blink them open, Beca is still there, smirking at her and cheeks flushed. She shakes her head and finally pulls her keys out of her bag. She unlocks the door, and starts to step inside.

“Goodnight, Legacy,” she calls, laughter in her voice, and Emily just watches as Beca disappears inside the Bella house, the door closing behind her.

Emily is usually not that great at math, but after all the solved variables she was just given, she kind of thinks that she + Beca totally = the heart emoji.

//

“Stace, we suck at this sleuthing thing,” Chloe says as they pull up to the Bella house and see Beca’s car already parked in its usual spot. “We barely saw what they did all night!”

“Well, they didn’t follow the unofficial plan that we had for them,” Stacie frowns. “That’s rude of them.”

But then Chloe gasps. “Wait there’s Emily!”

Stacie glances out the window, and indeed, there  _ is _ Emily, walking away from the Bella house and toward campus. 

They jump out of the car and hurry down the sidewalk.

“You know, I’m never meddling again,” Chloe huffs as they just about catch up to her.

It’s probably for the best, she thinks, when they call out Emily’s name and only barely avoid getting pepper sprayed in the face because Emily clumsily drops her pepper spray in fright.

They went to all this trouble to set up this date and it clearly didn’t even work! Otherwise Beca and Emily would probably be kissing on the Bella porch or something else equally romantic!

No, Chloe thinks. She’s never meddling again.

Her friends will have to find out that they totes like each other all on their own!


	12. Piggyback Rides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: Bemily when Emily gives Beca piggyback rides to cheer her up when she’s in a bad mood?

Beca’s in a  _ mood _ .

To be fair, she’s always a little bit in a mood, just like, naturally. But today especially, she’s in a mood.

“You’re going to get premature frown lines, Beca,” Chloe tells her at lunch.

“You’re bumming me out, girl,” Stacie frowns at her that afternoon when they meet up for coffee.

“Your whole vibe right now is cramping my style worse than when you were fired,” Amy scoffs at her as they go to meet up with the other Bellas for dinner.

Beca scowls as they walk. “For the last damn time, I wasn’t  _ fired _ , I quit.”

Amy shoots her a look. “Case in point,” she says. “You’re lower than a snake in Australia.”

“What?”

“They’re down under? Like as low as you can get.”

Beca rolls her eyes. “You are  _ so  _ weird.”

“At least I’m not a grump.”

Needless to say, this conversation doesn’t really make her any less grumpy.

//

Monthly Bella dinners are something Beca usually looks forward to. Ever since they all graduated and moved to different places and got busy jobs and lives, they don’t really interact that much.

Beca lives with Amy and Chloe still in New York, but she’s always out of town for work, especially after her own career took off after the USO tour.

Thankfully, most of the Bellas are in New York, too. All of them really, except Cynthia Rose and Aubrey.

So, once a month, they all get together, no excuses, for dinner.

And truly, Beca looks forward to these monthly dinners. Maybe she wouldn’t have said that as a freshman in college, but she’s older now and she realized a long time ago that she doesn’t have to try to fit some definition of cool. She just does what makes her happy and she’s good with that.

It just sucks that it’s  _ tonight _ because she’s had a hell week, and she’s in a mood, and she really just wants to crawl in her bed and have a good night’s sleep.

It’s Chloe’s turn to pick the restaurant so they go to some new sushi place she’s been wanting to try. There’s the typical hugging and squealing and  _ ohmygod look at you! _ s outside the restaurant. Beca goes through the motions before sulking outside the crowd of Bellas. She just doesn’t have the emotional strength right now to pretend she’s in a good mood, but she also doesn’t wanna be one of those people who ruins everyone else’s night by being in a bad mood, so.

Sulking off the side. Casually. No big.

They pile into a long table inside the restaurant. Beca’s squeezed in, Jessica on one side and Flo on her other, Emily’s long legs brushing hers accidentally under the table from where she sits across from Beca.

They get a whole variety of dishes, passing the plates around family style. Beca spends the dinner giving lowkey answers to people’s questions and just listening to everyone else’s conversations. She listens as Flo tells Stacie about the new juice she’s experimenting on making, and Amy talk about how they’ve been looking for a new apartment because their lease is almost up and she’s a millionaire now and Beca’s pay is obviously increased thanks to the singles she’s been releasing the past month that have been getting mad radio play.

Beca sinks lower in her seat as everyone starts singing one of her songs at each other.

She’s so grateful to all of them; she wouldn’t have done any of this probably if it weren’t for her years with the Bellas, their support, just everything.

She just like, really isn’t in the mood.

Finally it gets a little late so they finish their food and start paying. They get split checks and Beca is one of the first to pay, so she pushes out into the cool night air while she waits for Chloe and Amy, grateful for some space. 

“You alright?” A hand lands on her shoulder and Beca shrugs.

“Yeah, just one of those days,” she says.

Emily nods. “Yeah, I get it.” She rocks back and forth for a second before giving Beca a knowing look. “You know what makes it better?”

“Alcohol?”

Emily sticks her tongue out. “Piggy back rides.”

“No,” Beca shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Mhmm,” Emily grins, turning so her back is facing Beca and leaning over slightly. “Hop on.”

“Dude, no.” 

“Let it happen, what do you have to lose?”

Beca scoffs. “Uh my dignity?”

Emily laughs at that. “I’m pretty sure you stopped caring about that like, three years ago.” She points at her back. “I’m not giving up til you get on.”

“If I do it for like, five seconds will you stop?”

Emily just grins and points over her shoulder again.

Becs sighs. “Fine.”

She grumbles to herself, but resigns to awkwardly jumping on Emily’s back. Emily heaves her up further and Beca wraps her legs around Emily’s waist and her arms around her neck.

“Okay, let me down.”

“What? No, we just started.”

Then Emily starts jogging, half bent over from Beca’s weight and have just hopping forward like a dork. She takes a few steps forward and then turns around and comes back until she’s just running in a little circle in front of the restaurant. 

“Oh my God,” Beca mutters, bouncing along with every step. “This is so stupid.”

As if to make her feel more stupid, Emily starts making noises like she’s an airplane or a car or something. “Whooooosh, vrrrrrrrrrrrrm, nnnnyyeeeeehhhh!!!” Then she grabs one of Beca’s feet and points it at Stacie who just stepped out of the restaurant. “PEW PEW PEW!”

And Beca can’t help it. She feels so dumb and weird and embarrassed in the best of ways. 

She laughs.

She laughs and she laughs and she can’t fucking stop.

Her body shakes with the force of it and she leans her head down onto Emily’s shoulder, stifling the sound into her sweater. 

She can’t see it, but she can practically feel Emily grinning as she hobbles from Bella to Bella, all coming out of the restaurant one by one, Emily facing each one of them, another string of “PEW PEW PEW”s coming from her mouth, jabbing Beca’s foot forward with each one.

And Beca’s still laughing - she like, can’t stop, and her abs hurt with it until she can’t hold onto Emily anymore and slides off her back.

All the Bellas just stare at them, but Beca barely notices, bent over with laughter.

When she straightens up, Emily’s beaming at her.

“You guys are so weird,” Amy says, but Beca really doesn’t even mind because Emily’s looking like she won the lotto more and more with every giggle that comes out of Beca’s throat.

And Beca’s not really in a mood anymore. 

Well, actually she is. She’s just not in a bad one. She’s in a giddy, giggly one.

“Told you,” Emily says in an over-exaggerated whisper. “Works every time.”

Beca kind of doesn’t think it was the piggyback ride, though. Like, if Amy had given her a piggyback ride, she might’ve just been traumatized.

No, she thinks. It was Emily, and her very specific quirkiness, her laugh, her contagious smile.

They all say bye, but Beca’s still just laughing to herself.

_ Thank you _ , she mouths to Emily when she waves goodbye, but Emily just shrugs like it was no big deal.

She makes a note to buy Emily a coffee next week or something.

Furthermore, she makes a note to go to Emily next time she can’t shake one of her moods.


	13. Hugs for Beca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wedreamerlifelove said: Beca doesn't let anyone hug her but she gets jealous when the other bellas hug Emily

One thing about the Bellas that Beca’s always had trouble rolling with is just how touchy-feely they all are.

It’s not even that Beca hates hugs or anything. She’s not like, a robot or something.

There’s just, you know, a time and a place for stuff.

And to the Bellas that time and place is always and everywhere.

That’s the part Beca can’t roll with.

//

And sure, after knowing the Bellas for a few years, living with them, and being around at least one of them practically 365/24/7, she’s kind of used to it.

Someone is always touching her, hugging her, putting their feet in her lap, stealing her headphones (and money… cough, Amy…), taking food off her plate, playing with her hair, and about a million other things.

Sometimes, you know, she’s just not in the mood, but you can’t really escape it when you live with a house full of other girls who are all basically obsessed with each other.

It just bothers her sometimes.

A lot of times, really. Practically  _ all the time _ .

That’s not news.

What  _ is  _ news is that one time she’s bothered when someone  _ isn’t _ touchy-feely with her. 

Yeah, that time… that time doesn’t make sense.

//

See, the Bellas being touchy-feely with her kind of becomes her new normal. So much so, that she trains herself to basically stop noticing.

And then they get a new Bella. And honestly, Emily fits right in.

She’s dorky and bouncy and weird and she really loves hugs.

Like, she’s always hugging everyone. 

Which is normal, because  _ all _ the Bellas are always hugging everyone. That’s the thing that drives Beca nuts! But she got used to it. She had to.

So that’s why it takes her awhile to realize that Emily never hugs her.

And when she says never, she doesn’t mean like... less than the other Bellas hug her. She means literally  _ never _ .

And she shouldn’t care, really. In fact, she  _ should _ be relieved. 

FINALLY. A Bella who doesn’t hug her all the freaking time.

But for some reason it bothers her. Slowly starts to irk her, really just crawls under her skin until she for some reason obsesses about it constantly.

The Bellas hug everyone… Emily hugs all the Bellas… so why doesn’t Emily hug her?

Did she  _ do _ something? Does Emily hate her?

The thought bothers Beca more than it would’ve a few years ago. Really, it bothers her a lot.

Finally one day she sees Emily all alone in the living room of the Bella house and she can’t help it. She asks.

“Hey, did I do something to make you mad at me or something?”

Emily looks up from her spot on the floor, where she’s sitting cross-legged and leaning over the coffee table, writing in a notebook. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What? No. Why?”

Beca leans against the door jamb and shrugs, kind of embarrassed and not really wanting to ask the thing she  _ wants _ to ask.

“I dunno, never mind.”

Emily sets her pencil down, giving Beca her full attention. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Beca says quickly. “It’s fine, never mind.”

“Are you sure?” Emily frowns, genuine and earnest, and it makes Beca more confused.

She hesitates, but finally manages to say it. “It’s just like, you never hug me. Not that you have to, but everyone in this fucking house is always hugging, you know? And you’re like, the worst of them, to be honest. You’re always hugging everyone. But never me, so I thought maybe I was a bitch or something. And I wanted you to know I didn’t mean to be and I’m sorry. Sometimes I don’t realize I’m being a dick, so.” She shrugs.

Emily stares at her for a second, her mouth twisting. Then she pushes herself up off the floor and in two long strides is standing in front of Beca.

And for the first time, Emily hugs her. Like wraps her arms clear around Beca’s entire body so that Beca can’t move, her arms trapped against her sides and face buried in Emily’s shoulder.

Emily smells nice, but Beca can’t breathe.

“Mmmpf,” she grunts.

And Emily pulls back.

“I just thought you didn’t like hugs,” Emily says with a small smile.

Beca glances away, embarrassed as hell. “I mean, I don’t.” She clears her throat before looking back at Emily. “It’s just everyone here is always hugging and they don’t care if I like hugs or not, so. I dunno, I figured you were the same.”

“If you don’t like hugs, why do they hug you?” Emily’s face twists into this cutely confused expression and Beca laughs. Cute naive Emily.

“Because they’re touchy-feely people? I dunno.”

“Hmm.” Emily shifts her weight slightly so she’s not as close to Beca. “Well if you don’t like it, I won’t do it.”

But now Beca feels bad because like she said, she doesn’t hate hugs, alright? There’s just a time and a place! “Well, it’s okay, I just like to be prepared, and not like,  _ all the time _ .”

Emily nods. “Yeah, totally. Understood. Aye, aye cap’n!”

Beca bites her lip around a smile. “Okay. So just to be clear, you don’t hate me and aren’t mad at me or anything, right?”

“Of course not!” Emily beams. “I love you, you’re the awesomest.” Her smile turns bashful. “So, can I hug you?”

Beca rolls her eyes, but grins. “Yeah, alright.”

She opens her arms and Emily steps back into her space, her long arms swooping over Beca’s shoulders and around her neck. Beca squeezes the girl around her waist, sinking into the niceness of a hug that is expected and wanted.

See, if all hugs were like this, she’d probably like them more.

“Thanks,” Beca says when Emily finally lets go. 

“No,” Emily chirps. “Thank  _ you _ .” And then really quickly she hugs Beca again.

At that moment, she hears the front door close and the trampling of feet. Then a voice, indistinguishable as to  _ whose _ , gasps and yells, “GROUP HUG!”

And suddenly a whole group of bodies makes contact with Beca’s back, arms grabbing her and squeezing and squishing and  _ ohmyGod _ whyyyyyy?

God dammit she hates this touchy-feely shit!

Still, she rolls her eyes and lets it happen. 

Like she said, she’s used to it.


	14. Grad School Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: Bemily based on my situation where sometimes when I stay over at my girlfriends place she reads the chapters I have to read for class to me because I’m too tired from school

The thing about grad school that Emily never really expected is that it’s actually not any harder than her undergrad. Actually it’s easier. There’s no tests, no studying, no pop quizzes, no group projects.

What there is, though, is five times as much reading, material that’s five times as boring, and essays that are about five times longer than she’s used to writing.

Which means she’s like… five-cubed times busier and more tired.

So it’s not exactly harder… it’s just like… harder.

Or something.

Listen, she’s exhausted and this made a lot more sense in her brain.

At least, that’s what she’s thinking when she enters her apartment after the class she TAs, flops on the couch, and lifts her giant ass textbook out of her bag with a groan. See, it’s already 6pm and she’s still got about 150 pages of reading to do and twenty-three essays to start grading.

It’s not exactly harder. It’s just… HARDER.

She’s tired.

Heh.

“You okay there?”

Emily rubs her eyes and looks up at her girlfriend. “I’m just tired and I still have to do all this reading. Why is grad school so much work?”

Beca raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms where she’s leaning in the doorway. “Because it’s grad school?”

Emily opens her book to the right page, sees the large and unending wall of text in front of her, and groans again. “I should’ve just gotten a job out of undergrad. I could be like a secretary or something.”

“You do have the right temperament for it,” Beca grins at her and sits next to her on the couch.

“I know right,” Emily huffs. She sets her book on the coffee table and leans back against the couch, closing her eyes. “Yep, secretary life here I come. It’s never too late to drop out.”

She hears Beca snort and Emily bites back her smile, her eyes still closed.

She briefly hears the shuffling of pages and Beca clearing her throat. Then -

“The milestones discussed in the previous chapter allow child psychologists to map development and gain insight into how children interact with the world around them and other…”

Emily’s eyes shoot open as Beca continues to read from the textbook, her voice methodical and familiar. It’s soothing and perfect and Emily finds herself staring.

Beca reads for a few minutes, then gets to the end of a paragraph and glances up, her cheeks pinking slightly when she meets Emily’s gaze.

“What? Is this not the right chapter?”

“No, it is.”

“Do you not want me to read it to you?”

Emily smiles softly. “No, I want you to.”

“Then why are you staring at me?” Beca scowls, defensive and prickly.

“Because I love you.”

“Oh.” Beca rolls her eyes but Emily can see traces of a smile as she looks back down at the pages. “Whatever. You made me lose the place.”

Emily feels her smile growing. She softens. “Bec.”

“What? I love you, too, geez.”

“Okay,” Emily laughs. “Can you start over?”

“What, why?” Beca frowns. “I just read like three paragraphs of this boring shit.”

Emily grabs for her backpack on the floor, looking up at Beca happily. “Well, yeah, but I need to take notes.”

Beca gapes. “You have to read all this _and_ take notes?”

“Uh, yeah? For my essay.”

“Ugh,” Beca scoffs. “That’s so much work. You should totally just be a secretary.”

“I know right.”

Beca turns back to the book, and Emily puts her pen to paper, thinking that okay, maybe if Beca reads every chapter to her, grad school just might not be so hard after all.

 


	15. Stupid Pee Stick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: can i please get a bemily minific where they find out beca is pregnant after finding out emily can't get pregnant?

It’s cold in the bathroom. That’s all Beca can think at the moment.

She’s got goosebumps.

“It’s okay if it’s negative, you know? I don’t want us to get our hopes up again so quickly. We can always try again. These things take time. And I know it’s been four months already but we only get to try once a month so really it’s not that long at all in comparison. I just think that…”

Beca’s only partially listening to her wife. Emily isn’t looking for Beca to answer. She’s rambling because she’s nervous and it makes her feel less useless and anxious.

It makes Beca less anxious to just have Emily there, saying whatever comes to her mind.

She wishes…

Well she wishes a lot of things. She wishes they hadn’t had to go through all the pain they did to get to where they are now. She wishes the doctors never told Emily she couldn’t get pregnant, not after Emily spent  _years_ gushing how much she couldn’t wait to have kids with Beca. She wishes Emily never had her heart broken by some guy in a suit and tie.

She wishes her own genes weren’t so fucked up, wishes their kid would have Emily’s eyes and her height and relentless optimism and not Beca’s grumpy disposition and poor posture and cankles.

Mostly she wishes this stupid stick would hurry the fuck up and show their result.

Beca vows to stop staring at it for two minutes. Emily’s still going on about this and that, pacing back and forth on the cold, white tiles of their bathroom floor. Beca watches her, her feet dangling from where she sits on the counter next to the sink, stupid pee stick lying on a sheet of toilet paper beside her.

“I mean, the doctor  _said_ you were all working down there and stuff, so I don’t think we should have to try forever. I really hope the baby has your eyes, sweetheart. I mean, if there is a baby. If not, that’s just fine. We can always adopt, of course! I think we should probably also adopt anyway, and - ”

“Em,” Beca taps her hands against her thighs impatiently.

Emily stops mid-step, pirouetting around to look at her. “Yeah babe?”

Beca reaches for her and Emily comes to stand between her legs. Her long hair falls over her shoulder and behind the nervousness, Beca can still see love and hope behind her eyes. Beca might start crying.

Okay, she does start crying.

“Oh,” Emily frowns. “Baby what?” She cups Beca’s face in her hands, her thumbs caressing over her cheeks and wiping away a tear that Beca wish hadn’t slipped out. “Did you - ?” she glances toward the pregnancy test but Beca has her fingers wrapped around it.

“Do you think… our kid will like me?” Beca rolls her eyes at herself, but she’s long gotten over being vulnerable in front of her wife. Emily is always extra soft on her.

Emily nods. “Who wouldn’t like you? You’re the bomb dot com. You’re  _the_ Beca Mitchell, kickass music producer, master mac and cheese chef, Mario Kart champion 2025. What kid wouldn’t want a mom with those credentials?”

Beca manages a smile. “I can’t believe we’re going to be parents.”

“I know. I mean, well, we will once we - wait, um.” Her eyes flicker to the covered test in Beca’s hand and she presses it into Emily’s palm, her heart beating fast. Emily stares at Beca with wide-eyes, then curls her own fingers around the test like she’s afraid to look.

She bites her lip and holds it up.

Then immediately drops it on the floor.

“OH MY STARS!” She bursts into tears, her palms grabbing Beca by the cheeks clumsily. Beca laughs, her own body shaking with hope, and a little fear, and a lot of love. “WE’RE GONNA BE MOMS!”

She kisses Beca, but she’s crying and laughing and their teeth bump together.

“Oh my God.” Beca pulls her shirt up and stares at her bare stomach incredulously. “There’s a fucking baby in there. What the fuck?”

“Don’t say fuck in front of my child,” Emily teases, leaning down to touch her nose to Beca’s tummy. “CAN YOU HEAR ME BABY? WE’RE GONNA BE YOUR MOMS!”

Beca’s body shakes with laughter. “Stop yelling at my stomach, it probably, like, doesn’t even have ears yet.” Emily grins and stands back up, kissing Beca for real.

“I love you, Bec.” And all of Beca’s wishes? They shrink to the smallest little bubbles in the back of her mind. She has Emily and this baby and this moment.

What else does she need?


	16. Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ELIZABETHSAIGE INQUIRED: bemily + "so you're the bastard that's been stealing my lunch out of the fridge!"

Beca is on a mission.

A mission… to catch whatever Bella is stealing her Capri Suns from the fridge. Her bets are on Fat Amy but it could also be Chloe. Those bitches love Capri Sun and have no qualms about crossing lines and personal boundaries.

Beca isn’t crazy. She’s a very rational human. And what would a rational human who keeps having her Capri Suns stolen do?

Set up one of Lilly’s spy cams of course.

Then… she waits.

//

So being a spy is totally boring and involves spending way too much time meticulously watching her computer. She’s bored and it’s really hard to tell what the Bellas are taking from the fridge as the day goes on. She’s pretty sure it’s not her Capri Suns, but she’s on edge and grumpy, anxious to catch the culprit.

She almost falls asleep when she catches movement on the camera. She peers closer, and lets out a gasp.

“THIEF!”

She sprints down the loft stairs, down the main stairs, and into the kitchen, her socked feet sliding on the floor.

“STOP RIGHT THERE THIEF!”

Emily stares at her wide-eyed, her lips around the small straw of the Capri Sun. “Uh.”

“So you’re the bastard that’s been stealing my lunch out of the fridge!”

Emily scrunches her face in confusion. “What?”

Beca points furiously. “My lunch, Legacy! You’ve been stealing it!”

Emily glances down at the Capri Sun in her hand, then back up at Beca. “This is your… lunch?”

“YES!”

“It’s a Capri Sun…”

“Whatever, dude, don’t judge me!”

Emily raises an eyebrow, her gaze playful. “Okay, sorry Cap. You want it back?” She holds the drink pouch out to Beca and Beca snatches it. It’s abnormally light and Beca gapes as she squeezes it and only air comes out of the straw. Emily giggles.

“Not cool, dude…”

“Sorry,” Emily genuinely apologizes. “I didn’t know it was yours.”

Beca narrows her eyes. “They’re in my section.”

“Your what?”

“My section?” Beca shoots her a  _duh_  look. “Like of the fridge.”

“There are sections?”

Beca opens the fridge door and starts pointing. “Yes see this corner is Ashley’s and next to her is Stacie and down there is Lilly, and  _this section_  is mine.”

“The one with the bags of shredded cheese, Gogurt, and the Capri Suns?”

“Yes.”

Emily pouts at her. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry. They’re not like, labeled.”

Beca sighs. She guesses it’s not unreasonable that the new girl wouldn’t understand their fridge system. “It’s okay,” Beca tells her, giving her shoulder an awkward pat. “You didn’t know. I guess if you want something of one of the girls’ you have to ask whose it is.”

“Okay,” Emily nods. “I can do that.”

“Great.”

“So umm, can I have one of these Gogurts?”

Beca frowns. “No.”

“Pleeeeaasssse,” Emily pouts, her hands folding together in front of her. “Just one?”

Beca shakes her head. Emily’s pout deepens, her eyes growing bigger. Beca throws her hands in the air. “Fine!  _One_.”

Emily beams at her and steals a Gogurt from the fridge. “You’re the best! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Then she kisses Beca on the cheek and skips away, Gogurt in her mouth.

“Wow,” Fat Amy drawls from the kitchen doorway. “So Beca Mitchell does share her lunch… Just not with me.”

Beca scowls, pushing past Amy into the hall. “Can it Amy. And give me back my twenty dollars!”

“Mmm… can’t. Spent it on replacing your Capri Suns that I’ve been stealing for the past week.”

Beca freezes.

“DAMMIT AMY!”


	17. Dear Diary...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ANONYMOUS INQUIRED: bemily + dear diary

_“Dear Diary - Today I pet a dog. His name was SpongeBob (HAHA!) and he was really cute!!! I also took a Chemistry quiz and only missed one! It was a pretty good day. Oh, and we booked our flight to Copenhagen. I think tomorrow - ”_

Emily snaps her diary closed as she hears the front door to the Bella house open and shut loudly. She holds it tightly in her lap when Beca slouches into the family room and plops down in the reclining chair.

“Oh, hey Em.” Beca looks tired. She’s in this really cool outfit though, with these cool pants and vest and her hair is super on point. Emily’s stomach flips and she squeezes her diary tighter.

“Um, hey Beca! Whatcha doin?”

“Thinking about the inevitably of failure and the real possibility of me applying for a job at Burger King.”

Emily frowns. “Um. Okay…”

“What you doing?” Beca’s eyes glance to the book in Emily’s hand and Emily blushes. 

“Oh you know. Just writing and stuff.”

“Writing? Like for class?”

Emily shakes her head. “Um, no, not exactly. Just like, some of my thoughts… and sometimes I write songs and stuff…”

Beca’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead. “You write songs?”

“Uh. Yeah. Sometimes.”

“Can I… Would you mind if I like, saw one?”

“Oh…” Emily feels heat crawl up her neck. “Sure.”

She flips to one of her song pages and stands up, moving across the room toward Beca. But then her toe catches on the corner of the coffee table and she trips, the book in her hands going flying as she topples over.

“Ow,” Emily whines.

“Ow,” Beca murmurs. Emily looks up from the floor to see the book in Beca’s lap and Beca rubbing her cheek where a spot has turned pink. Emily blushes again when she realizes she’d accidentally flung the book at Beca’s face.

“Oh… sorry, sorry.”

But Beca doesn’t hear her. She’s looking down at the book in her lap and Emily’s stomach bottoms out. She scrambles up and peers at the page, cringing in horror at what she sees.

“ _Dear Diary - Today I got to talk to Beca a little after practice. She’s really cool and_ so _talented. I added ‘making music like beca’ to my dream board. Now that I’m a Bella I got to cross that off the list and add something new! Beca is also like, unfairly pretty. I think I have like, the tiniest bit of a crush on her? She’s just so gorgeous and I know I told you this last summer, diary, but I’m a bisexual disaster. And Beca? Totally what my type of girl would be. Not that I think anything would ever happen because she’s Beca and I’m me and like, I’m obviously totally fine with that!!!!!!!!!! I just want to make music with her. If possible. Wish me luck!!! -Em xoxo”_

“Uhhhh…” Emily stammers, her cheeks probably literally on fire. Okay not literally but  _gosh_  they’re burning. “I’m… umm. Hm…” She squeaks something incoherently.

Beca looks up at her, eyes surprised. She tilts her head, a smirk playing at her lips. “Bisexual disaster, huh?”

“Uh. Yeah…” Emily wants to facepalm.

“Hm. Same.”

Emily looks up in shock. “Really?”

“Oh yeah.” Then Beca laughs. “This is so wild. You know what my boss told me today? Basically that I have like, no talent on my own. So this is just…” Beca’s stomach shakes as she laughs. “Guess you’re gonna have to add something new to your dream board.”

Emily frowns. “What do you mean? Beca, you’re like the most talented person I know.”

Beca shrugs. “I just wish I could do what you do.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” She flips to the next page where Emily’s first draft of “Flashlight” is written. “This has like… awesome potential, dude.”

Emily blushes again, for a different reason. Her stomach is all fluttery. “Umm. Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

Beca chuckles. “I’m sure.” Then she hands the diary back to Emily. “Um, it seems like you need to go take a second to cool off, Legacy.”

“My face is really hot.”

“It’s pretty hot.”

Emily’s eyes grow wide. “Umm.”

Beca laughs again. “Just testing if you were really a bisexual disaster.”

“I am,” Emily nods vigorously. “I so am.”

“You wanna go out sometime?”

Emily drops her book in shock. “Like? Me? With you?”

“Yeah,” Beca smirks. “Me and you.”

Emily feels like a bobblehead she’s nodding so quickly. “Mhmm. Yep. That would be. Yes. Cool.”

“Breathe bud.”

“Yeah. Yep. I’m gonna,” she gestures behind her and picks her book up off the floor. 

She can feel Beca’s eyes on her as she runs out of the room. She heads to the bathroom and splashes cold water on her face. Then she goes up to Stacie’s empty room and opens her diary again.

She has  _a lot_  of new information to share.


	18. Girl of Her Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> soulmate au where you can see your soulmate in your dreams before you meet them

When Beca’s fifteen, she’s implanted with the DreamChip. She doesn’t really care that much about it, but all her friends are doing it, so Beca thinks, _why not_. Supposedly if your soulmate also has the chip, you’ll see them in the Dreamscape. It’s a way to know them even before you meet them.

Or something.

Beca’s not sure she buys into it. Apparently it’s science, some brain wave technology that finds who you’re most compatible with and links you to them on the virtual matrix that is the Dreamscape. But what if you have more than one person who matches? Would you see them both? Or what if you don’t match with anyone?

That’s what Beca thinks happens to her, because nothing in her dreams change, as far as she can tell.  Her best friends reason that her soulmate probably just doesn’t have the chip, but there’s no way to be sure.

She decides she doesn’t really care all that much. What even are the chances she’d meet her soulmate in person? Music is her one true love anyway, so.

The Dreamscape can suck it.

//

She’s seventeen when she starts noticing her dreams are different.

That’s the thing, though. They’re dreams. When she wakes, she remembers a presence, comforting and familiar, but by the time she’s showered and started her day, thoughts of the dreams have long been forgotten.

//

They say your soulmate’s image is supposed to become clearer the closer you are to them.

As she grows older, the thought kind of freaks her out.

Not only is there probably some weird fucking GPS in her goddamn brain, but what if the images start to sharpen and she has to face the improbable reality that she might _actually_ meet her soulmate?

What if her soulmate doesn’t like her?

Or worse, what if she doesn’t like her soulmate?

//

Her first night at college, Beca dreams of a girl.

She has dark hair and long limbs and Beca can _feel_ her smile, even if she can’t see it.

Dream Beca sits against a wall in the Dreamscape, watching as the scenery shifts in front of her, from a rainy day to her childhood home to a random cafe Beca’s sure she’s never visited.

The dark-haired girl sits next to her, and Beca is certain they have some kind of conversation, but when she wakes up, she can’t remember what it was.

//

Sometimes her soulmate sings in her dreams. Beca can’t remember much, but over the next few years, she always remembers that. Her soulmate has a nice voice, and the songs she’s singing linger in Beca’s brain hours after she wakes.

She tries to make a playlist of them all, but she gives up after the stretch of three months where her soulmate doesn’t sing anything but _Hamilton_.

//

She wonders what effect she has on her soulmate.

Do her mashups get stuck in her head? Does she fixate on the a cappella team choreography that Beca seems to obsess over in her sleep? What does she see when she sees Beca in _her_ dreams?

//

Eventually she stops worrying about it.

Her soulmate is some background character in her life that she may never even meet. All she has to go off of is dark hair, long legs, and a voice that could belong to a pop star. It’s not exactly a neon sign pointing her in the right direction. And her soulmate’s appearance hasn’t sharpened at all over the past few years.

It seems they’re both set in their lives at the moment, not moving further, but not coming any closer, either.

//

Beca’s senior year of college brings lots of new things:

An a cappella World Championship competition, an internship, crippling self doubt about her future.

And her soulmate, sharpening in her dreams and becoming so clear that Beca feels like she might be right there.

Only her face is blurry, like a hologram or a staticy picture on an old television.

And she’s singing the same few songs over and over, ones Beca has never heard before but which stick to her for days after.

“You feel really close,” her soulmate says, her voice coming through the Dreamscape like an out of tune radio. “It’s like I can almost see you.”

Beca thinks she responds, but when she wakes, she can’t remember what she said.

She squeezes her eyes shut tighter, trying to hold onto her dream, but it disappears like smoke into the air, becoming hazier and hazier until she might have imagined the whole thing in the first place.

//

“Do you think we’ll ever meet?” Her soulmate asks her a few days into her senior year. “I can’t stop feeling how close you are.”

“I don’t know,” Beca responds. “Where are we?”

She frowns around at the Dreamscape, which has morphed into a sprawling green that reminds her of somewhere, but she can’t quite place it.

She feels in her heart that it’s _school_ , but it doesn’t look like Barden at all.

“Where are you?” She asks her soulmate. “Are we in the same place?”

Her soulmate smiles and tells her, but when Beca wakes, she has no idea what was said.

She throws her pillow at the wall.

//

Beca has a big day. She’s got her first quiz of the semester, and the first day of her internship, and Chloe texted her to say they’d added a new Bella to the team, but Beca can’t focus on any of it.

She’s preoccupied, obsessing over her recent dreams, the way her soulmate seemed so present and real that Beca might’ve reached out and touched her.

What had they been talking about in her dream last night?

She can’t remember. She frowns and takes a big sip of her drink, thinking that she needs a distraction so it’s a good thing this a cappella party is happening.

 She meets the new Bella and the tall, dark-haired girl seems so familiar that Beca swears they’d met before. But the girl says she’s a Legacy, that her mom was a Bella before, and Beca realizes she must just recognize the girl from her mom’s picture on the Bella house wall.

Her name is Emily, and Beca leads her over to where the Bellas are all dancing, ready to get lost in the music and not think about her dreams anymore.

//

When Beca enters the Dreamscape that night, she can tell things are immediately different.

It’s morphed into a version of the Treble backyard where the party she’d just been was, but there aren’t any people around. It’s just Beca and the pool and the night sky. She walks further into the backyard and sees a figure sitting on the drink table, their legs swinging under them.

And Beca knows that person, _feels_ it before she looks up at her, her image sharp and clear like an HD picture.

The girl smiles as Beca comes closer, hopping off the table and rocking forward on her toes.

“Beca?”

Beca blinks, looking around the Dreamscape for some kind of sign that something’s off, but no, everything seems in order.

“Emily? You’re my soulmate?” When Emily smiles, Beca feels the familiar comforting presence she’s always felt when the Dreamscape put them together. But now her soulmate is _there_ , perfectly clear and solid.

“Guess so,” dream Emily chirps, a little laugh bubbling from her throat. “I wasn’t sure we’d ever meet.”

“Me neither,” Beca responds. Now that her soulmate is _someone,_ not just this vague outline of a person, Beca can’t stop staring. She’s known the hair and the height and the smile, but there’s something about Emily that feels so… familiar. Like someone she’s been dreaming of for a long time.

Which like, yeah. She guesses that’s the point.

“Wow,” Beca murmurs, and Emily laughs. Beca thinks she likes her laugh. It’s pretty, like her singing voice.

Dream Emily reaches her hand out and Beca tentatively takes it. They go for a walk around the Dreamscape, the Barden campus of their dreams, hand in hand.

Beca’s sure she wouldn’t be able to do this in real life, but her subconscious has been yearning for a person she’d never met, and now that they’re together, she doesn’t want to let go.

//

Beca wakes up happy.

She can’t remember her dream, but she does remember one thing about it, and that’s Emily.

She passes a hand over her face, wondering if it’s true, if Emily is her soulmate, the person the Dreamscape has been showing her all this time.

She slips out of bed, closing the loft door on Amy’s snores, and tiptoes downstairs. The Bella house is quiet, everyone still asleep, and Beca peers into the living room, wondering…

Yes. Just where they left her.

Emily’s on the couch, snuggled in a pile of blankets, yawning and swiping through her phone, clearly just woken up. She shifts when Beca steps into the room, pushing herself up on her elbows.

“Hey,” she beams. “Morning.”

“Hey,” Beca says back. “Umm.”

Emily scrunches her nose like she knows what Beca’s gonna say. “Weird dream, huh?”

“Yeah…”

“Guess we’re soulmates, then,” Emily laughs, like it’s not some big revelation, like there isn’t some possibility she might be wrong and Beca will call her crazy.

Beca chuckles disbelievingly. “Yeah, guess so.”

“You wanna talk? Get to know each other a little?” Emily smiles at her and Beca nods.

Emily scoots up against the armrest, her legs crossing under the blankets, and Beca sits on the couch next to her, mirroring her position.

And suddenly Beca realizes she’s scared.

What if they’re not meant to be?

But then Emily holds her hand out, just like in Beca’s dream, and Beca finds she somehow has the courage to take it.

So she does.

And it feels perfect, like a moment she’s been dreaming of forever, comfortable and easy and just right.


End file.
